[Tennis] Tennis Claims Three GPAC Singles and Doubles Titles
Doane Tennis competed in the GPAC Individual Championships on Friday and Saturday at Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln. The Tigers had plenty of success over the two days including three championships in the "A" Division of the singles and doubles brackets.
In women's action, the Tigers owned the "A" Division in singles as Amber Weston (FR/Mead, Colo.) and Ava Macke (JR/Omaha, Neb.) went undefeated on their respective sides of the bracket on their way to a clash in the championship. Weston, the 2-seed, earned a 6-1, 6-0 win over Regi Zakrzewski of Saint Mary in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, she defeated 3-seed Sofia Morales of Concordia, 6-3, 6-3. Macke, the 4-seed, defeated Haley Gonsor of Mount Marty, 6-1, 6-4, before dispatching Allison Marshall of Concordia, 6-2, 6-1. In the championship, Weston defeated Macke, 6-2, 6-1.
In the "B" Division, top-seed Brylee Lauby (JR/Lexington, Neb.) advanced to the championship before dropping the final match in a tie-break. Three-seed Liz van der Torre (SO/Greeley, Colo.) was upset in the first match before running the table through the rest of the bracket. Lauby opened with a win over Madelyn Redding of Hastings, 6-0, 6-2. In the semifinals, she defeated 4-seed Tenly Hansen of Morningside, 7-5, 6-0. In the championship, Lauby lost 6-2, 4-6, 0-1 (2-10) to 2-seed Claudia Miranda Viera of Concordia. Following a 4-6, 2-6 loss to Tashlynne Badger of Mount Marty in the opening match, van der Torre defeated Jessica Wilson of Northwestern, 8-2. She topped Emma Markle of Hastings, 8-1, and Samantha Worthington of Hastings, 8-2, to take 5th place.
The "C" Division featured three Tigers. Payton Stalder (JR/Omaha, Neb.) opened with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Emilee Hulsing of Northwestern. She dropped her next match in the quarterfinals to 1-seed Katie Seja of Concordia, 6-1, 6-1. Daniella Ruiz-Martinez (JR/Omaha, Neb.) defeated Mindy Myers of Morningside in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-1. Ruiz-Martinez lost in the semifinals to Seja, 6-0, 6-0. Makayla Rice (SR/Lincoln, Neb.) opened with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Anna Weighmink of Northwestern. Rice defeated Katelyn Krejci of Concordia 6-1, 7-5 in the quarterfinals before falling to Luisa Esquival of Concordia, 6-4, 6-3, in the semifinals.
Three Tigers competed in the "D" Division. Kailyn Groski (SO/Papillion, Neb.) opened with an 8-2 win over Savannah Armendariz of Saint Mary. In the quarterfinals, she dropped her match to Julia Phillips of Concordia, 8-3. Shan-Yu (Grace) Tuan (SR/Kaohsiung, Taiwan) opened with an 8-2 win over Jayden Baete of Hastings. In the quarters, she topped Megan Hakes of Concordia, 8-2, before meeting teammate Makenna Hoesche (FR/Wilber, Neb.) in the semifinals. Hoesche opened with an 8-1 win over Mariel Ortiz of Saint Mary in the quarterfinals. Hoesche defeated Tuan to advance to the finals, 8-5. Hoesche was knocked off by Phillips in the championship, 5-8.
In the "A" Doubles Division, Lauby & Weston teamed as the 2-seed while Macke & van der Torre were on the opposite side of the bracket, unseeded. Lauby/Weston opened with a win over Emily Clotfelter & Tenly Hansen of Morningside, 6-2. In the semifinals, they defeated 3-seed Haley Gonsor & Lacee Fedeler of Mount Marty, 6-3. In the championship, Lauby/Weston defeated 1-seed, Tessa Hurst & Regi Zakrzewski of Saint Mary, 6-2. Macke/van der Torre opened with a 6-2 win over Theresa Price & Sasha Richards of Hastings. In the quarters, they topped 4-seed Sofia Morales & Claudia Miranda Vierra of Concordia, 7-6 (10-8). Macke/van der Torre were defeated by Hurst/Zakrzewski in the semifinals, 3-6.
The "B" Doubles Division featured three Tiger teams. Ruiz-Martinez & Tuan opened with a 6-1 win over Jaclyn Negrete & Blake McDowell of Saint Mary. In the quarters, they defeated Emma Montenegro & Noelle Phillipi of Northwestern, 6-3. They lost in the semis to 1-seed Ansley Gates & Katie Seja of Concordia, 2-6. Groski/Hoesche opened with a 6-4 win over Madi Smith & Julia Phillips of Concordia. They blanked 2-seed Emilee Hulsing & Anna Weighmark in the quarterfinals, 6-0. They met teammates Rice/Stalder in the semifinals. Rice/Stalder opened with a 6-1 win over Luisa Esquivel & Megan Hakes of Concordia. They downed Hannah Theisen & Jayden Baete of Hastings, 6-2, in the quarterfinals. The semifinal match up between Tiger teams went the way of Rice/Stalder by a 6-2 decision. In the finals, they dropped the match with Gates/Seja, 3-6.
On the men's side, 2-seed Jorge Chevez (JR/Panama City, Panama) won his second straight GPAC "A" Division title. He defeated Jaime Maza Martin of Morningside in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 6-4. In the semifinals, Chevez needed a tie-break to defeat Midland's 3-seed, Miguel Abete, 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5). The championship match was much easier as he ran through Midland's Salvador Almeida, the 4-seed, 6-3, 6-0. Henrique Sakoda (JR/Sao Paulo, Brazil) opened with a 7-5, 6-4, win over Lucas Zoller of Concordia. In the quarterfinals, he lost to 1-seed Carter Mason of Hastings, 2-6, 2-6.
The "B" Division featured Sam Coy (JR/Lincoln, Neb.) and Milo Ciotti (SO/Lincoln, Neb.). Coy posted a 6-3, 6-1 win over Isaac Howes of Concordia in the quarterfinals. He fell to top-seed Conrad Mascarenhas, 1-6, 5-7, in the semifinals. Ciotti dropped his opening match to Hayden Royal of Hastings, 1-6, 6-3, 0-1 (7-10). He lost to Gabriel DeLeo of Morningside in the consolation bracket, 5-8.
Three Tigers competed in the "C" Division. Parker Hansen (JR/Norfolk, Neb.) opened with a 6-3, 6-1, win over Bradyn Heiss of Midland. In the semifinals, he lost to Joe Bindl of Concordia, 3-6, 1-6. Avery Munson (SO/North Platte, Neb.) defeated Trent Jones of Mount Marty, 6-1, 6-2, in the opening match. In the quarterfinals, he lost to Nathan Bitzer of Midland, 4-6, 2-6. Logan Bornemeier (SO/Lincoln, Neb.) opened with a loss to Bindl, 2-6, 2-6. In the consolation bracket, he defeated Isaac Sam of Mount Marty, 8-3, and David Loomis of Hastings, 8-2, to advance to the 5th place match. There, he met Brian Nathaniel of Morningside and won 8-5.
In the "D" Division, three more Tigers competed. Brandon Linhart (SO/Omaha, Neb.) opened with an 8-3 win over Wyatt Kholes of Hastings. He defeated Jeremy Phillips of Mount Marty, 8-0, in the quarters before falling to Octavio Velazquez of Concordia, 0-8. Avery Martin (FR) lost to Velazquez in his opening match, 5-8. He followed with an 8-2 win over Jared Thompson of Midland, an 8-0 win over Kholes, and an 8-2 win over Alexander Tennant of Mount Marty to take 5th place. Josh Grosvenor (FR/Grand Island, Neb.) opened with a 9-8 (7-0) win over Dyson Dollarhide. In the semifinals he topped Mark Karpf of Midland, 8-4. The championship match saw Grosvenor fall to Velazquez, 4-8.
The "A" Doubles Division saw last year's champions of Chevez/Sakoda upset in their first match, 3-6, to Jeremiah Berryman & Eduardo Rojas of Concordia. They followed with three straight wins to take 5th place. Chevez/Sakoda topped Alex Lehner & Alexander Tennant of Mount Marty, 6-0, the team of Gabe DeLeo & Jay'Von McKinney of Morningside, 6-0, and the team of Jory Opp & Jaime Maza Martin of Morningside, 6-3. Doane's team of Coy/Ciotti lost their opening match to Luke Zoller & Juan Rabellino of Concordia, 3-6. They lost to Opp/Maza Martin in the consolation bracket, 3-6.
The "B" Doubles Division featured a trio of Tiger duos. Bornmeier/Grosvenor won their quarterfinal match, 6-1, over Mark Karpf & Dyson Dollarhide of Midland. They lost to Garrett Seamans & Brian Nathaniel of Morningside, 0-6, in the semifinals. Linhart/Martin teamed and lost their opening match to Thane Waite & David Loomis of Hastings, 0-6. They defeated Mount Marty's Isaac Sam & Jeremy Phillips, 6-2, to advance to the 5th place match. Hansen/Munson would meet Linhart/Martin in the 5th place match. Hansen/Munson opened with a 3-6 loss to Seamans/Nathaniel. They bounced back with a 6-0 win over Giang Nguyen & Trent Jones of Mount Marty. Hansen/Munson followed with a 6-0 win over Hastings' Ryan Hunter & Wyatt Kholes. In the 5th place match, Hansen/Munson defeated Linhart/Martin, 6-1.
Next up for the Tigers will be the ITA Regional Tournament in Wichita, Kansas.