ST. LOUIS - Missouri Baptist men's tennis finished their regular season with a pair of dual matches on Friday and Saturday. The Spartans celebrated Senior Night with an 8-1 victory over the William Jewell College Cardinals. However, the men suffered their first conference loss of the season on Saturday at the hands of the William Woods Owls.
Missouri Baptist (8-7, 4-1 AMC) celebrated three seniors on Friday night against William Jewell College. Before the match, Head Coach Cole Stevenson along with Director of Tennis Operations Lloyd Brown honored seniors Quinton Argent, Tanner Morris, and Nicholas Thorburg.
The Spartans struck first in doubles, sweeping all three for the second match in a row. It's the fifth time this season the Spartans shut an opponent out in doubles.
Pairing up for the first and only time of their senior careers, Quinton Argent and Tanner Morris made quick work of their opponents. The No.2 duo won 8-2.
Missouri Baptist's reliable combos of Tobin/Martin and Nanney/Walker completed the doubles sweep. Tobin and Martin won 8-5 at No.1, while Nanney and Walker cruised to an 8-2 victory at No.3.
The Spartans carried their momentum into singles, winning No.'s 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 all in straight sets.
"Fun night for our seniors," Stevenson said after the match. "These are some of the guys that were here when I got here and had to experience the down years before we really turned it around these last two. Big pieces of our program we have been building, so was fun to get them a win."
Saturday's match did not go as smoothly. The Spartans traveled to Fulton, Mo. to take on the William Woods Owls for the regular season finale.
Missouri Baptist took the doubles advantage for the seventh match in a row, winning two of the three.
Quinton Argent and Lucas Oliveira put the Spartans board first with a quick 8-2 win at No.1
Sean Nanney and Tanner Morris added to the lead with an 8-6 victory at No.3.
James Tobin and Ricardo Martin's six match win streak came to end in a tiebreaker loss at No.2
Despite the 2-1 lead, the Spartans could not take advantage in singles.
Oliveira, Martin, and Tobin all dropped highly competitive matches at No.'s 1, 3, and 4.
Sophomore Dylan Walker was on pace to put another win on the board, but retired in the second set.
The lone high light in singles came at No.6, when junior Sean Nanney continued his high level of play and won in three sets. Nanney has won six matches in a row.
"Everyone was out of sync all day in singles," Stevenson said after the match. "It's amazing the match was as close as it was. Dylan retired while winning, which would've made it 4-5, and we lost a doubles match in a tiebreak...if we can almost pull out a win playing the way we did, I love our chances when we show up."
Missouri Baptist will wrap up the season with the conference tournament next weekend in Olathe, Kan.
