WICHITA FALLS, Tex. -- Washburn men's tennis had a busy day in Texas on day one of the Midwestern State University Invitational. After day one the Ichabods are in contention to win both singles and doubles flights.
Santiago Rendon led off seven Washburn competitors in singles play. He came away with a two-set win with scores of 7-6(4) and 6-3, over Borja Delgado from Midwestern State to move on to the semifinals in Flight A. Miquel Perez fell in three sets in his quarterfinals match in Flight A, dropping the third set tiebreaker 10-3.
In Flight B, Moritz Pieper picked up a win in two sets with scores of 6-2 and 6-4 to advance to the semifinals. Noah Neideck lost two tightly contested sets in his opening match in Flight B, 7-5 and 6-3.
Daniel Bird won in three sets in Flight C, including a 10-2 win in the third set tiebreaker to advance to his semifinals match. Daniel Harkin got a bye in the opening round of Flight D. Yoshinobu Nakatsuji fell in three sets in Flight E, with his comeback coming up short after an 11-9 third-set loss. Ben DuBois lost his opening round match in Flight F, losing both sets by just two points.
In the semifinal matches, Rendon led off the group with a three-set win. After falling 6-4 in set one he reeled off a 6-1 win in set two and a 10-6 third-set victory to advance into the finals of Flight A.
Pieper came up just short in his semifinals match, falling in two sets, both with identical scores of 7-6(4). Bird's bid for the finals came up just short, splitting the first two sets of his match and losing 10-8 in the third set tiebreaker. Harkin's opening match of the day ended in a two-set loss, both with scores of 6-4.
In the West stages of their respective draws, Perez fell in three sets, dropping the third set tiebreaker 10-6. Neideck won in two sets, clinching his win with a 7-6(1) victory in set two to advance to the finals. Nakatsuji also won his West matchup in two sets, losing only a combined three set points. DuBois followed suit with another West win, with set scores of 6-0 and 6-1.
Doubles play for the Ichabods began with Rendon and Neideck losing a close 8-6 battle against Cameron University in Flight A. Pieper and Bird came together to defeat Oklahoma Wesleyan University opponents 8-2 in the quarterfinals of Flight B.
Two Washburn teams had byes in the first round, Perez and Nakatsuji in Flight A, and Harkin and DuBois in Flight C.
Day two will begin with singles play starting at 8:00 a.m. followed by doubles at its conclusion.
Singles play
Quarterfinals
Flight A
Rendon, Santiago (WU) def. Delgado, Borja (MWSU) 7-6(4), 6-3
Gonzalez, Juan (SEOSU) def. Perez, Miquel (WU) 6-1, 2-6, 10-3
Flight B
Pieper, Moritz (WU) def. Miret Avante, Marcal (MWSU) 6-2, 6-4
Duleba, Joao (CU) def. Neideck, Noah (WU) 7-5, 6-3
Flight C
Bird, Daniel (WU) def. Slocombe, Stephen (MWSU) 7-6(4), 4-6, 10-2
Flight D
Harkin, Daniel (WU) Bye
Flight E
Naraya, Gen (SEOSU) def. Nakatsuji, Yoshinobu (WU) 6-0, 2-6, 11-9
Flight F
Lumbanradja, Yosua (OBU) def. DuBois,Ben (WU) 6-4, 7-5
Semifinals
Flight A
Rendon, Santiago (WU) def. Blanchar, Alex (OBU) 4-6, 6-1, 10-6
Madzar, Stipan (SEOSU) def. Pieper, Moritz (WU) 7-6(4), 7-6(4)
Parzajuk, Matias (OBU) def. Bird, Daniel (WU) 6-4, 4-6, 10-8
Setti, Germano (MWSU) def. Harkin, Daniel (WU) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles play
Flight A
Kubik, Kristian/Duleba, Joao (CU) def. Rendon, Santiago/Neideck, Noah (WU) 8-6
Perez, Miquel/Nakatsuji, Yoshinobu (WU) Bye
Flight B
Pieper, Moritz/Bird, Daniel (WU) def. Martin, Clement/Hoyte, Richand (OWU) 8-2
Flight C
Harkin,Daniel/DuBois, Ben (WU) Bye
