Region VI Men's Tournament Central
An undermanned Seward County Saints Tennis team will look to make some noise this weekend at the Region VI Tournament in Wichita. Seward will most likely need to win two of the brackets and possibly more if they are to qualify as one of three teams from the region for their 8th straight NJCAA National Tournament.
Ronzai Saurombe will take back over as the Saints #1 man for the tournament. Saurombe, who is ranked 22nd in the latest ITA national rankings, was 2-1 at #1 singles this season and a perfect 6-0 at #2 singles. Saurombe draws the #5 seed in the draw despite his success and will take on Eric Cender from Hesston in the opening round. In their regular season matchup Saurombe hardly broke a sweat against Cender, beating him 6-0, 6-0 in a clean sweep. If he were to do that again, Saurombe would setup a battle with Johnson County's Spartak Rahachou in the semifinals, Rahachou is ranked 8th in the country and defeated Seward 6-1, 6-2 in the Saints last regular season match of 2014.
Alejandro Gonzalez will enter the #2 singles bracket as the 2nd seed, but Gonzalez is sure to be one of the favorites in the draw. He was 3-0 in #2 singles during the regular season and was 4-2 in #1 play. Gonzalez is ranked #20 nationally and will battle Cowley's 18th ranked Erik Eldagsen in the opening round. Gonzalez and Eldagsen played an epic match during the regular season a match in which Eldgasen snuck away with a 10-6 win in a third set tiebreak.
Maybe the surprise of the Saints Spring season, Trevor Kipping will represent Seward in the #3 singles draw. Kipping was a team best 8-1 during the regular season and draws the #2 seed for the tournament bracket. Kipping's first test will come against Taylor Smith of Johnson County in the semifinals, a player that Kipping defeated 10-6 in a third set tiebreak two weeks ago. If Kipping can get by Smith, his likely finals opponent will be Josh Coleman of Cowley who is ranked 26th in the country and is the top seeded player in the bracket.
Possibly a key to the Saints success in the tournament will come at #4 singles where Colin Glassman will take the court for Seward. Glassman struggled to a 1-8 record during the regular season and will be the #4 seed for the tournament. His first test will come in against Dominic Murray of Hesston who defeated him 6-1, 6-2 during their regular season date. If he can slip by Murray, Glassman will face a giant task of taking on the top seed in the bracket, Seth Moore from Cowley.
The Saints will be without a representative in the #5 and #6 singles draws.
Despite winning the ITA National Title in the Fall, Saurombe and Gonzalez have struggled to just a 5-4 record during the Spring season. The duo will look to regain their magic in the #1 draw at the Region VI Tournament, but they will have to take the hard way to get there as one of two teams in a play in match just to make the first round. Saurombe and Gonzalez will take on Hesston in their opener and shouldn't have much problem with a duo they knocked off 8-2 earlier this season. If they win that match, they will battle the team that sent them on their slide earlier this year in top seeded Ono/Martinez from Barton.
Another key spot for the Saints will be at #2 doubles where Kipping and Glassman will compete together. The pair was 3-6 during the regular season and picks up the #3 seed for the tournament. They will play Johnson County in the opening round, a team that they lost to 8-4 two weeks ago. If they can pull the upset there they are likely to take on 17th ranked and top seeded Cowley in the finals.
Seward will not have a duo in the #3 doubles draw which is headed by top seeded Cowley.
Play will kick off at 9:30 AM on Friday at Riverside Tennis Center in Wichita with the finals slated for 9:00 on Saturday morning.
#1 Singles
Fri. 9:30 AM- (22) Ronzai Saurombe (SC) def. Erik Cender (He) 6-0, 6-0
Fri. 12:00 PM- (22) Ronzai Saurombe (SC) def. (8) Spartak Rahachou (JC) 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-6(6)
Sat. 9:00 AM Championship Match- (9) Harry Busby (Co) def. (22) Ronzai Saurombe (SC) 6-2, 6-2
*Ronzai Saurombe finishes 2nd
#2 Singles
Fri. 10:45 AM- (18) Erik Eldagsen (Co) def. (20) Alejandro Gonzalez (SC) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Sat. 10:30 AM Third Place Match- (20) Alejandro Gonzalez def. (24) Kevin Kochersperger (JC) 6-2, 7-5
*Alejandro Gonzalez finishes 3rd
#3 Singles
Fri. 10:45 AM- Trevor Kipping (SC) def. Taylor Smith (JC) 2-6, 7-6, 6-2
Sat. 9:00 AM Championship Match- Trevor Kipping (SC) def. (26) Josh Coleman (Co) 6-4, 6-1
*Trevor Kipping wins Men's #3 singles Region VI Championship
#4 Singles
Fri. 9:30 AM- Dominic Murray (He) def. Colin Glassman (SC) 4-2 (inj)
#1 Doubles
Fri. 2:30 PM- (5) Saurombe/Gonzalez (SC) def. Murary/Hostetler (He) 6-3, 6-0
Fri. 4:00 PM- (5) Saurombe/Gonzalez (SC) def. Ono/Martinez (Ba) 6-2, 2-6, 6-1
Sat. 1:00 PM Championship Match- (8) Busby/Eldagsen (Co) def. (5) Saurombe/Gonzalez (SC) 6-4, 6-3
*Saurombe/Gonzalez finish 2nd
#2 Doubles
Fri. 2:30 PM- Smith/Snyder (JC) def. Kipping/Glassman (SC) Default
Sat. 1:00 PM Third Place Match- Johnson/Moyers (Ba) def. Kipping/Glassman (SC) default
*Kipping/Glassman finish 4th
FINAL STANDINGS
1. Cowley 26
2. Johnson County 14.5
3. Barton 13.5
4. Seward County 9.5
5. Hesston 3