Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 ST. LOUIS – Conference success and a will to go toe-to-toe with several NCAA foes has been the story of the last few weeks for Missouri Baptist men's tennis. The Spartans are now 11-8 on the year and capped off its Thursday afternoon, and Senior Day no less, with a big win against Missouri Valley College (MoVal).
 
MBU gave NCAA opponents Lewis University and Quincy University all they could handle, but lost both by a match score of 4-3 in the doubleheader road trip against the Flyers and Hawks on March 25th. The Spartans have managed wins against Baker University (7-0), Principia College (9-0) and MoVal (4-3) since those defeats, which ended their four-match win streak that culminated with a road win against local rival Maryville. MoBap was outmatched in Friday's tilt that followed with No. 5 William Woods (6-1) but managed to stay competitive and saw several bright spots in the loss.
 
MBU's Senior Day win against the MoVal was the first for the program since the 2015-16 season.
 
MoBap's top of the lineup has continued to impress. Dragan Omcikus and Luca da Silva Ebenritter, MBU's No. 1 and No. 2 singles players and top doubles pairing, are 1-2 and 4-2 in singles matches, and 4-2 as a unit. Ebenritter's clutch 6-3 third set win was the deciding point in the match for the victory against MoVal.
 
The Spartans have seen continued success further down the lineup as well. No. 2 pairing Timofey Tokmakov and Lucas Kzam have been mirror images, with both going 3-2 individually and 3-2 from doubles play since the Maryville win. Kzam was the lone point getter in the William Woods match, winning in two sets (7-5, 6-2) against Andrej Jovanovich.
 
Freshmen Nicolas Sanchez, Alberto Pros Cieker, and Youssef Ihab Mokhles have taken advantage of opportunities. Sanchez is 2-1 from singles play and 3-1 in doubles action. Pros Cieker is 3-0, with two two-set wins against Baker and Principia as a singles fill-in. Ihab Mokhles has gotten a singles and doubles win from the third spot in the lineup and taken three singles losses to the third set.
 
Sanchez's typical doubles partner Filip Petrovic has a singles win and four doubles wins during that span. The senior teamed up with Ihab Mokhles for the pivotal 7-5 win against MoVal in the No. 3 spot to give MBU the doubles match point against the Vikings.
 
Missouri Baptist has only a few matches left before the postseason arrives. The Spartans will face University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy on April 11th at 11 am, Marian University on April 13th at 12 pm, and Washington University on April 15th at 2:30 pm. All matches will take place in St. Louis.