[Tennis] Men's Tennis falls 6-3 to Bethany in home opener, Women's Tennis cruises to 7-0 win ...

It wasn't your average early spring tennis match for the Kansas Wesleyan men's and women's teams.

 

The Coyotes opened Kansas Conference play Wednesday against arch rival Bethany in the First Bank Kansas Smoky Hill Showdown. It was also their first home matches of the season under first-year head coach Josh Molino and assistant coach Logan Palenske, who was the Swedes' coach last spring.

 

The results were a mixed bag, though. The women's team rolled to an easy 7-0 victory, but the men's team lost 6-3 at Salina Central High School.

 

"We'd liked to have ended the (losing) streak on the men's side," Molino said. "The ladies played really well, I think it was a relatively convincing win. 

 

"We're happy to split here and looking forward to seeing them again, possibly in the conference tournament."

 

Four matches were contest on the women's side, KWU getting three forfeit victories to improve to 1-4 on the season. Bethany had just three athletes competing.

 

In the three singles matches, Paola Vargas (SO/Santa Cruz, Bolivia) cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Laura Piracun in No. 1 while Zofia Selwesiuk (FR/Wroclaw, Poland) downed Ivona Vojvidic 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 and Brianna Mendoza (SO/Balch Springs, Texas) handled Mia Novakovic 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3. Vargas and Selwesiuk combined for an 8-0 victory in the lone doubles match.

 

"All three played really well," Molino said of the women's team. "Credit to them, I'm happy for them, it was a good win, they've been working hard."

 

The Wesleyan men fell to 1-5, but had some spirited matches against their longtime rivals. Mario Rincon (SR/Bogota, Colombia) was victorious at No. 1 singles, downing Edward Sengai 6-2, 6-4. Luckian Campos (SR/Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) also won at No. 6 singles, defeating Brandon Sopina 6-1, 6-2. Felix Diaz (JR/La Guaira, Venezuela) and Luis Soto (JR/Santo Domingo, Dominican Repub) notched an 8-4 victory over Sopina and Manuel Lopez Videla 8-4 in the No. 2 doubles match.

 

KWU's Michael Moody (SR/Midwest City, Okla.) lost to Miguel Abete 7-6 (7-5), 0-6, 2-6 in the No. 2 singles match. Diaz lost to Andres Ricaurte 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3, Soto fell to Raul Rivera 6-1, 6-3 at No. 4 and Wesleyan's Shingi Chingaya (SO/Wylie, Texas) lost to Lopez Videla 6-0, 6-1 at No. 5.

 

Rincon and Moody dropped an 8-5 decision to Abete and Ricaurte in No. 1 doubles, and Kye Rice and Rodrigo Vera (SO/Lima, Peru) lost to Raul Rivers and Sengai 8-2 in No. 3 doubles.

 

Despite the setback, Molino saw some positives.

 

"Rincon continued his really good year and Luis Soto and Felix Diaz got a really big win in doubles for us," he said. "And while Felix lost in singles, he tested Andres and Andres is one of the top players in the conference."

 

Moody and Abete engaged in a lengthy battle.

 

"Michael's our top guy, he's the leader on and off the court," Molino said. "He's had some tough losses and I think he's got to find a way to work himself into the victory circle. He does all the right things so it's just a matter of time."

 

The Coyotes play three matches next week, starting with a conference dual against Bethel on Tuesday at North Newton. They travel to Fulton, Mo., for non-conference matches against Westminster on March 29 and No. 4-ranked Williams Woods on March 30. They return home for a conference match against Oklahoma Wesleyan on April 3 at Salina Central.

 

"We've got some work to do at some spots," Molino said. "We're looking forward to practice and getting better."