Four Cougars advance to semifinals, Barton Tennis moves up to 20th

The dust has settled after three days of competition in Plano, Texas, with four flights remaining intact for the No. 16 ranked Barton Community College men's tennis team in the NJCAA Division I National Tennis Championship.  Sending six into Wednesday's round of play, the Cougars had four survive and advance to climb in the team rankings two spots to 20th.  Barton will resume their quest for a back draw championship with semifinal action beginning with three singles matches at 11:00 a.m. followed by their lone doubles team remaining slated for a 2:00 p.m. first serve.

Receiving a back draw double bye and not playing on Tuesday, the No. 2 doubles duo of Giovanni Fragalle and Kaio Massao dominated their quarterfinal match 6-0, 6-1 to end the season for College of DuPage's Alex Kantzioris and Sohil Sampat.  Next for the duo will be a 2:00 p.m. Thursday match against Pima Community College's Dalton Reisig and Francisco Sotelo.

In singles play, Fragalle also had a bye in his No. 3 consolation bracket on Tuesday then marched into the semifinals on Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Mississippi Gulf Coast's Noah Tippen.  Massao also dominated his singles match with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Alex Kantzioris from the College of DuPage to advance in the No. 4 bracket.  Juan Jaimes was the third Cougar advancing to Thursday's consolation semifinals, taking care of Lake County's Zach Wisniewski in the No. 5 singles draw with another dominating performance of 6-1, 6-0.

Two flights had their season end on Wednesday including No. 6 singles player Ray Strunk playing his last match as a Cougar.  Having been defeated in his first match by the tournament's third seed, Strunk had the misfortune of next taking on the fifth seed in the consolation bracket in taking a 6-1, 6-0 loss to Jason Roberts of Laredo Community College.

Barton nearly advanced its second of three doubles squads to the back draw semifinals, but unforced errors proved the difference as the No. 3 doubles duo of Jaimes and Triston Herbst had their season end in a 7-5, 6-4 loss to John Champion and Noah James of Meridian Community College.

Barton day three singles results:

No. 3 Singles: Giovanni Fragalle, def. Noah Tippen, Mississippi Gulf Coast, 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 Singles: Kaio Massao, def. Alex Kantzioris, College of DuPage, 6-1, 6-0
No. 5 Singles: Juan Jaimes, def. Zach Wisniewski, Lake County, 6-1, 6-0
No. 6 Singles:  No. 5 Jason Roberts, Laredo CC, def. Ray Strunk, 6-, 6-0

Barton day three doubles results:

No. 2 Doubles: Giovanni Fragalle/Kaio Massao, def. Alex Kantzioris/Sohil Sampat, College of Dupage, 6-0, 6-1
No. 3 Doubles: John Champion/Noah James, Meridian Community College, def. Juan Jaimes/Triston Herbst, 7-5, 6-4

Team Standings after Day 3:

Team - TOTAL POINTS
1. Tyler - 34
2. ABAC - 32
3. ASA Miami - 31
3. Seward - 31
5. Mesa - 27
6. Cowley - 26
6. Laredo - 26
8. Collin - 22
9. Jacksonville - 20
10. Seminole - 16.5
11. Meridian - 15
11. NMMI - 15
13. Harford - 14
14. Paradise Valley - 11
15. Mississippi Gulf Coast - 10
15. Pima - 10
17. Copiah-Lincoln - 8
17. Jones County - 8
19. Marion Military - 7
20. Barton - 6
20. Wallace St. - 6
22. Prairie St. - 4.5
23. Lewis & Clark - 3
24. College of DuPage - 2
24. Oakton - 2
26. Lake County – 0

Complete NJCAA Division I National Tennis Championship information found here