Men's Tennis | 9/21/2014 4:32:00 PM
Lincoln, Neb. – It was a very happy day for Bulldog tennis on Saturday as they qualified two athletes in two positions for the ITA Chapionships.
"It was a great day to be a bulldog, I was very pleased with all the players this weekend on the men's and women's teams," said Coach Stuckey. "They all worked hard in practices leading up to the tournament and in every match, both singles and doubles, fought to the last point which, for this being our first opportunity for completion, is all I ask for! We will take what happened this weekend and build on it for the KCAC tournament.
Heading into the 2014 ITA Central Regional Tournament as the top doubles team, Rafael Bulnes and Joan-Marc Fajula Rodriguez had a target on their backs. The duo took that as a compliment and made their way through the bracket and ended the tournament with a 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Equally as impressive, Bulnes fought his way through the singles bracket and won the championship 6-4, 6-3. After losing in the singles final in 2014, Bulnes came out determined and won without losing a set.
"It's great to see players accomplish a goal this early in the season," continued Stuckey. "Rafa was truly on a mission to win this tournament and put himself in position to win in singles, and doubles with his partner Joan Marc. Joan Marc also was very focused this weekend and played exceptionally well in all of his doubles matches!"
The two will head to the 2014 USTA/ITA National Small College Championships on Oct. 9-12 in Sumter, South Carolina where they will face the other regional winners. This is the first time in McPherson College history that the Bulldogs have had a representative at the ITA championships.
They also have the unique opportunity that if they win that tournament to play in another tournament that will have the national champion of NCAA Division-III, D-II, and JuCo for singles and doubles to become the overall champion of small colleges.
The Fall Season isn't over for McPherson tennis as they have the KCAC Individual Championships this Friday and Saturday in Winfield, Kan.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
