Tennis Opens Season at Bethany Invite

The Tiger Tennis teams opened their season this weekend at the Bethany Invitational in Lindsborg, Kansas. The Tigers brought home several Top Four finishes in the tournament brackets.

In men's doubles action on Friday, the Tigers brought home a fourth place finish in the B-Draw as Donat Beke and Elliot Dassel finished fourth. They won their opening match, 8-3, before dropping a match in the semifinals and in the Third Place match.

In singles play on Saturday, Esteban Gutierrez advanced to the championship match of the A-Draw before falling to Bryce Ware of Kansas Wesleyan. Ware was ranked No. 35 nationally in the ITA rankings at the end of last season. Gutierrez won 8-4 in his opening match and 9-7 in the semifinal match. Ware won the championship match, 8-1.

In the B-Draw, Jose Purizaca went undefeated to win the bracket. He won 8-1 in his opening match and 8-4 in the semifinals. In the championship match, he defeated the top seed, Raul Davalos of Kansas Wesleyan, 8-3.

Two Tigers placed in the D-Draw. Dassel took runner-up honors as he went 2-1. He opened with a 9-8 (7-1) win and followed with an 8-0 win in the semifinals. In the championship, he was defeated 9-7. Beke took third as he went 2-1 as well. He won his opening match, 8-4, but dropped his semifinal match, 8-4. He won the third place match as his opponent withdrew.

Avery Martin took second place in the F-Draw and was the seven-seed in the bracket. He won his first two matches, 8-4 and 8-1, to advance to the championship. He was defeated by the top seed in the finals, 8-5.

The Tiger women brought home a third place finish in doubles action on Friday evening in the A-Draw. The team of Maria Purizaca Soto and Grace Schroller opened with an 8-2 win. In the semifinals, they were defeated 8-0 by the eventual bracket champions. In the Third Place match, they won 9-8 (7-4).

In singles action, Purizaca Soto won the A-Draw by going 3-0 on the day. She opened with an 8-1 win and followed with an 8-3 victory in the semifinals. In the championship, she took on the reigning GPAC Player of the Year, Renee Acena of Saint Mary (Neb.). The final in the championship was 8-2 and sets up a potential rematch in the GPAC Individuals Tournament next weekend.

Schroller took fourth place in the D-Draw. She opened with an 8-4 win over the 2-seed. In the semifinals, Schroller was defeated 8-4 and in the Third Place match she lost 8-6. Cierra Schwarzkopf took third place in the E-Draw, going 2-1. She opened with an 8-4 win over the 3-seed. Her next match in the semifinals was an 8-4 loss to the 2-seed. She won the Third Place match as her opponent defaulted.

Sofia Hurst was the consolation bracket champion in the G-Draw. After dropping her opening match, 8-2, she rebounded with a win by injury default in which she was leading 3-1 and then took the final match with an 8-2 win over the 3-seed.

Next up for the Tigers is the GPAC Individuals Singles and Doubles Championships in Lincoln on September 15-16.