ST. LOUIS – For the second straight year, the (RV) Missouri Baptist University men's tennis team nearly broke a record for wins in a single season.
 
The Spartans corralled two wins on Wednesday in the NAIA Unaffiliated Group Tournament (AMC/HEART/SAC) quarterfinals and semifinals to increase their win total to 14. Unfortunately, they were stopped short of matching last year's program record 15 wins as they dropped the championship match to top-seeded and No. 11-ranked William Woods University.
 
MoBap, which earned the No. 3 seed for the tournament, kicked off the postseason in dominant fashion, taking down No. 6 seed Grand View (Iowa), 4-0. The Spartans shut out the Vikings in doubles as No. 8-ranked Luca da Silva Ebenriter and Dragan Omcikus won 6-0 at No. 1 doubles, the Tokmakov brothers earned a win by default at No. 3, and Youssef Ihab Mokhles and Nicolas Sanchez were up 5-0 at No. 2 doubles. With an automatic win at No. 6 singles due to GVU's roster size, MBU needed two more wins in singles play. Freshman Arkhip Tokmakov and grad student Timofey Tokmakov were the first to finish with 6-0, 6-0, and 6-1, 6-0 wins at No. 4 and No. 5 singles.
 
After dropping the regular-season matchup to Missouri Valley College, 6-1, on April 11, the Spartans avenged the loss with a 4-0 win when it mattered most. The Spartans' victory over the Vikings on Wednesday evening at Dwight Davis Tennis Center punched their ticket to the championship final. The Spartans once again won at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, which helped earn the doubles point. Dragan Omcikus and Youssef Ihab Mokhles completed their matches this time to log wins in singles action, defeating their opponents 6-1, 6-2, and 6-4, 6-4. Timofey Tokmakov put the finishing touches on the match by defeating Alecson Deschamps, 6-3, 7-5.
 
In Thursday's championship match, No. 11 William Woods grabbed the doubles point behind a 6-1 victory at No. 2 and a 6-3 win at No. 3. When doubles were halted, Ebenriter and Omcikus were deadlocked at 4-4 with the fourth-ranked Owls' duo of Ben Grumley and Zinovii Nahirniak, who they upset at the ITA Cup in the fall. The Spartans battled in singles play with one of the marquee matchups featuring 59^th-ranked Ebenriter and No. 4-ranked Vaclav Schneider. Schneider edged Ebenriter 6-4 in the opening set and led by just one (4-3) before it was suspended. The Owls won at No. 2, No. 3, No. 5, and No. 6 to clinch their third NAIA Unaffiliated Group Tournament title in four seasons.
 
Prior to the tourney, Luca da Silva Ebenriter was named All-Conference First Team Singles and added First Team honors in doubles with partner Dragan Omcikus as well. It marks the second straight year that Ebenriter and Omcikus were First Team Doubles.