ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Mulerider Tennis wrapped up its trip to Clark County, with the unit having a very successful weekend at the Great American Conference's Individual Championships.
Southern Arkansas' Men completed a complete sweep of the Great American Conference, as the Muleriders won all four singles flights and both doubles flights.
For the women of the Blue and Gold, the squad accounted for three singles flight championships.
Mulerider Men
With the first flight title, Lucas Nitzschke secured it for the Blue and Gold, defeating Ouachita Baptist's Maximillian Brenner in round one (6-7, 6-4, 10-5). In the semis, he took down Harding's Ignacio de Lorenzo Vicente (6-4, 7-6). To finish his trek to a title, Lucas overwhelmed Harding's Caleb Folse (6-3, 6-2).
Uwe Diehl made his way to the finals and secured a title after defeating Linus Huep from harding (6-7, 6-4, 10-6) in the first round. He followed that with a win over Ouachita Baptist's Mathyss Esclapez (7-6, 4-6, 10-5). To win the title, Diehl beat out Ouachita Baptist's Johannes Rittmannsberger (4-6, 6-2, 11-9).
With the third title for SAU, Taiki Minamino took down Ouachita Baptist's Tinus Mueller (6-2, 7-6). He then overcame Caden Highfill from Harding (6-2, 7-5). Taiki continued his dominance in the flight final with a 6-2, 6-4 win over his own teammate, Pedro Alameida Andres.
The final singles title for the men came from the MIAA/GAC Freshman of the Year last Spring, as Jonas Sommer clinched the title. In the first round he took down Ouachita Baptist's Yarin Aebi (6-2, 6-2). In the semis, Sommer defeated Ouachita Baptist's Guillaume Randoux (6-2, 3-6, 10-5). To win the title, he overcame Southeastern Oklahoma State's Gonzalo Cotter in dominant fashion (6-0, 6-4).
In doubles action, the Mulerider Men continued its sweep, as Uwe Diehl and Jonas cleared the way to a doubles flight title, alongside Frode Neumann and Taiki Minamino doing the same.
Mulerider Women
One of the three individual flight champions started with Vitoria Campigotto winning her first round against Harding's Mia Hosking (6-3, 6-2). She then won the semis after Harding's Kate Higgs retired due to injury. In the finals, Vitoria won the title after defeating Daniela Garcia from Southeastern Oklahoma State ((4-6, 6-1, 10-6).
For the next singles title, Kaera Fukai dominated in her path to win the flight championship, starting with a 7-6, 7-6 win against Arkansas Tech's Natalya Montoya. She then defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State's Lilly Shepherd in the semifinals (6-4, 6-0). In the finals of her flight, she took own Harding's Sofia Sarmiento Ruiz (7-6, 6-1).
The final singles title, Arianna Garcia kept up the dominance, starting with a takedown of Harding's Kenna Kelley (6-2, 6-2). She then proceeded to defeat Harding's Lauren Hill (6-3, 6-0) in the semis. To finish her impressive run, she overwhelmed Arkansa Tech's Jalie Bohnert (6-1, 6-1).
Up Next:
The SAU Men will be back in action at A&M-Texarkana on October, while both squads will be back in action on the regional stage, as Southern Arkansas awaits for October 22-25 for the ITA Regional Championships in Edmond, Oklahoma.
