By Trejan Rowbotham
May 9, 2018
The men’s tennis team at Southwest Baptist University was selected by the NCAA to participate in the 2018 Division II Men’s Tennis Championships in Surprise, Arizona. The Bearcats finished the regular season with an impressive 14-1 overall record, which was highlighted by an incredible 12-1 record in regional play. This level of excellence placed the Bearcats at the top of the Central Region and tenth overall in the final ITA rankings.
On April 24, 2018, the NCAA announced the field of 16 teams that would make the journey to Surprise, Arizona, for the Division II Championships. SBU qualified for the tournament, but their toughest battles were still before them.
On May 9, 2018, in the first round of the Division II Championships, the Bearcats faced off against the Cougars of Columbus State. The Cougars entered the tournament as the number one ranked team in the Southeast Region and the number two ranked team overall.
As the Bearcats and the Cougars faced off in their best-of-nine match, one thing was abundantly clear; SBU was outmatched. Despite their last ditch efforts, the Bearcats found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-0 lead after the doubles matches completed. The only thing that could save the Bearcats’ season was the singles matches.
Needing to win just two of the remaining six matches on the day, Columbus State played from an excellent position. Four of the six matches ended up going unfinished because the Cougars wrapped up two quick victories, which both came by the score 6-3, 6-1.
With the final point clinched, SBU’s 2018 men’s tennis campaign came to a heartbreaking end. The final score for the match, 5-0, was the fourth sweep of the afternoon in Surprise, Arizona.
*all stats courtesy of ncaa.com
*SBU men’s tennis team photo courtesy of sbubearcats.com
The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Infuse Student Media or Southwest Baptist University.
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