Tennis (Men's)
Washburn tops SBU for MIAA men's tennis final
By
Apr 26, 2009, 18:44

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Defending champion SBU was denied its league record 15th MIAA title by top-seeded Washburn, as the Ichabods defeated the third-seeded Bearcats 5-4 in a thrilling MIAA Men's Tennis Championship final. Due to rain, the final day matches were moved from the Plaza Tennis Center to the Clayview Country Club.

SBU's #1 doubles team of Marton Zsiga and Emilio Alabi won their match before Washburn would win at #2 and #3 doubles. Washburn would extend their lead to 4-1 with wins at #6 and #2 singles.

The Bearcats rallied to tie when freshman Jorge Margiotta won in two sets over WU's Drew Hanson at #4 singles, junior Zsiga would win at #1 over Branden Joost and senior Agustin Mollar would capture a three set victory at #3 over Ryan Ward.

A three-set win by Yann Kasay of Washburn at #5 singles gave the Ichabods their third MIAA title in the last four years.

The Bearcats played the weekend tournament without head coach John Bryant, who remained in Bolivar due to an illness. Graduate assistant coach Tony Tsymbalov and volunteer assistant Barb Janzekovich filled in for the longtime SBU head coach.

SBU will await to learn their postseason destination when the NCAA tournament pairings are announced on Tuesday, April 28.

Agustin Mollar

#33 Washburn 5, #21 Southwest Baptist 4
Apr 26, 2009 at Kansas City, Mo.

Singles competition

1. Zsiga,Marton (SBU) def. Joost,Branden (WU) 6-4, 6-4

2. Blondin,Simon (WU) def. El Alabi,Emilio (SBU) 6-4, 6-1

3. Mollar,Agustin (SBU) def. Ward,Ryan (WU) 3-6, 6-0, 7-5

4. Margiotta,Jorge (SBU) def. Hanson,Drew (WU) 6-1, 6-4

5. Kasay,Yann (WU) def. Palacios,Jorge (SBU) 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 6-4

6. Rens,Adam (WU) def. Welch,Tyler (SBU) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles competition

1. Zsiga,Marton/El Alabi,Emilio (SBU) def. Joost,Branden/Johnston,Brad (WU) 8-4

2. Ward,Ryan/Hanson,Drew (WU) def. Margiotta,Jorge/Palacios,Jorge (SBU) 9-8 (8-6)

3. Kasay,Yann/Blondin,Simon (WU) def. Mollar,Agustin/Welch,Tyler (SBU) 8-6

Match Notes

Southwest Baptist 15-8, 3-2 MIAA; National ranking #21

Washburn 12-5, 5-0 MIAA; National ranking #33

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,2,4,1,3,5)