By Grant Barrett, Ad Astra Radio
WICHITA, Kan. – Just two points would separate the Bullpup Tennis Team from the first place on Monday, as each McPherson entry was able to reach the semifinal in the AVCTL Div. III/IV Tournament.
In what was a beautiful day for tennis, and going into the tournament, Head Coach Tyler Brown and Assistant Coach Ricardo Sanchez, felt like all six players were in a position to make an impact in each of the divisions to help the team. “We showed our depth from top to bottom by being the only team to have someone in the semifinals in every division.” noted Brown.
Ethan Elder was the only one to make it through to the finals of his division, finishing the day unblemished after defeating Winfield 6-3, 6-0 in the finals at #2 Singles. Bryson Archer opened his league debut by beating Circle 6-0, 6-1. Archer would later fall to last year’s 4th place state finisher before dropping the 3rd place match to Buhler to take 4th place.
In the doubles pairings, both teams finished the day 2-1 for 3rd place. Kayden McVicker and Alex Berger would beat Wellington to bring home the bronze medal, and Viggo McHenry and Hunter Mendez would defeat Buhler to do the same.
Following the tournament, Coach Brown talked about the narrow margin with just one point separating the top three teams, he said, “This has to be one of the closest league tournaments between the top 3 finishing teams, he added, “I’m proud of these guys and how hard they played today.” He mentioned that the team seems to be peaking at the right time, and they look forward to Regionals in Buhler on Thursday, beginning at 10 a.m.
Below are the team and individual results from Tuesday, AVCTL Div. III/IV Tournament in Wichita:
Winfield 53
Wichita Collegiate 52
McPherson 51
Buhler 48
Wellington 38
Augusta 17
Circle 15
El Dorado 6
Individual Results:
#1 Singles Bryson Archer 1-2 4th
#2 Singles Ethan Elder 3-0 1st
#1 Doubles Kayden McVicker / Alex Berger 2-1 3rd
#2 Doubles Hunter Mendez / Viggo McHenry 2-1 3rd
