[Men's Tennis] Men's Tennis falls to McPherson in KCAC Semfinals

TOPEKA – Kansas Wesleyan seniors Michael Moody (SR/Midwest City, Okla.) and Mario Rincon (SR/Bogota, Colombia) didn't end their college careers the way they hoped they would, but they departed with bang in their final match together nonetheless.

Playing No. 1 doubles against McPherson in the Kansas Conference tournament semifinals, Moody and Rincon combined for an 8-6 upset victory over Jacob Turley and Julien Bodin on Friday at the Kossover Tennis Center.

Turley and Bodin are the No. 8-ranked doubles team in the NAIA.

Moody and Rincon were the lone victors as the No. 2-seeded Bulldogs defeated the Coyotes 5-1 and advanced to Saturday's championship match against fourth-seeded Ottawa. The Braves stunned top-seeded and No. 22-ranked Southwestern 5-4 in the other semifinal.

"That's an unbelievable win against a team that at one point was No. 1 in the (Central) region and is eighth in the country," KWU coach Josh Molino said. "It's an unbelievable win for them to finish their careers."

McPherson won the other two doubles matches – Nicolas Wahl and Rick Sakamoto defeating Felix Diaz (JR/La Guaira, Venezuela) and Luis Soto (JR/Santo Domingo, Dominican Repub) 8-6, and Juan Jimenez and Jakob Romel winning the No. 3 match 8-2 over Kyle Rice (SO/Topeka, Kan.) and Rodrigo Vera (SO/Lima, Peru).

Turley downed Rincon 6-1, 7-5 at No. 1 singles, Wahl defeated Soto 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4 and Romel toppled Shingi Chingaya (SO/Wylie, Texas) 6-2, 6-4 at No. 6. Moody's No. 2 singles match and Diaz's No. 3 were stopped after the team outcome was decided.

Molino, who completed his first season as the Coyotes' coach, was pleased with his team play Friday and throughout the season. They finished 6-3 in KCAC play and 8-8 overall.

KWU advanced to the semifinals with a 5-2 quarterfinal victory over Bethany on Monday at Salina Central High School. It was the program's first victory over the rival Swedes.

"I'm really proud of the guys," Molino said. "We played our A-game today and we didn't leave anything left in the tank, and as a coach that's all you can ask for. We gave everything we have and they're a quality opponent."

"Unbelievably lucky to coach this group, especially the seniors. It was a pleasure all year long and we finished with our heads held high."

Molino was especially proud of the three seniors – Moody, Rincon and Luckian Campos (SR/Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).

"These guys have left a crazy legacy," he said. "That first win over Bethany and they got to the semifinals a couple of years ago. The program's on the rise and it's because of those guys.

"A lot of credit to Bob Warkentine (former KWU coach), he did an unbelievable job with this class and the program, and we're just looking to continue the momentum."