Tiger tennis team advances all singles players and doubles teams to the semifinals

With the level of competition getting tougher each day at the NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis National Championships held in McKinney, TX, the top-ranked Cowley College Tigers stepped up to the challenge and advanced all six singles players and its three doubles teams to the semifinals with quarterfinal victories on Wednesday. Cowley is tied for first place, with Tyler Junior College entering the tournament's final two days.

Cowley's most challenging test came at No. 3 singles, where freshman Bruno Nhavene lost the opening set against Iowa Central's Prince Gandonou 6-4. However, Nhavene sent the match to a third set with a 6-4 win in set two.

Fighting through leg and arm cramps, Nhavene would take the third set 6-4 to join the rest of the Tigers into Thursday's semifinal round.

"This tournament is all about finding a way to win," Cowley head coach Manuel Raga said. "I was very happy with everyone's performance."

Play will resume Thursday at 8 a.m. at the Courts of McKinney Tennis Center.

"We will have nine tough matches, but I know the boys are ready to go out there and take care of business," Raga said. "Our mentality is to advance everyone to the finals; they just need to go out there and execute."

Results:

DOUBLES

*No. 1 – Bruno Nhavene/Takeshi Taco (CC) defeated Sam Miyata/Brandon Telle-Marty (Paradise Valley) 6-0, 6-2; defeated Hugo Blasco/Lennert Lemahieu (Wallace State) 6-3, 6-2.

*No. 2 – Hanamichi Carvajal/Taiyo Hirano (CC) defeated Guido Loayza/James Wassell (Coastal Alabama) 6-1, 6-1; defeated Barnabas Kalaba/Prince Tsiang (Barton) 6-4, 7-6.

*No. 3 –Boruch Skierkier/Reiya Komagata (CC) defeated Macarthur Swain/Ian Williams (Jacksonville) 6-1, 6-1; defeated Gustavo Campos/Marno Duplessis (Barton) 6-1, 6-0.

SINGLES

*No. 1 – Taco (CC) defeated Tomas Nader (Jones College) 6-2, 6-4; defeated Seth Seeley (Collin) 6-0, 6-3.

*No. 2 – Skierkier (CC) defeated Franco Vedda (Jacksonville) 6-1, 6-2; defeated Lennert Lemahieu (Wallace State) 6-1, 6-0.

*No. 3 – Nhavene (CC) defeated Franco Toscano (Paradise Valley) 6-4, 6-1; defeated Prince Gandonou (Iowa Central) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

*No. 4 - Carvajal (CC) defeated Jacob Runnels (Hinds) 6-0, 6-0; defeated Joseph Restrepo (Collin) 6-3, 6-4.

*No. 5 – Komagata (CC) defeated Tanner Bevard (Jones College) 6-1, 6-2; defeated Alex Ballinger (Pratt) 6-2, 6-1.

*No. 6 – Hirano (CC) defeated Nick Scroppo (Prairie State) 6-0, 6-0; defeated Jesse Faro (Harford) 6-3, 6-2.