Men’s tennis places third in region, qualifies for national tourney

Led by Richard Filkuka (pictured) and Diego Motivar capturing the No. 1 and No. 2 singles titles, the Cowley College men’s tennis team placed third at the Region VI Tournament played Friday and Saturday at Wichita’s Riverside Tennis Center.

The third place finish qualified the Tigers for the national tournament, which will be played May 11-16 in Plano, Texas.

“The guys stepped up, every match we played we were right there with a chance to win,” Cowley head coach Josh Cobble said. “I expect us to do even better at nationals.

Motivar captured his second straight region title at No. 2 singles, while Filkuka won the crown at No. 1 singles.

“We went into the tournament expecting them to have an excellent shot at winning and they went out and took care of business,” Cobble said.

Filkuka and Motivar teamed to play No. 1 doubles and advanced to the championship match before losing to a doubles team from Barton County.

Boomer Saia won a pair of matches to advance to the title match in No. 6 singles. In the title match, Saia won the first set 6-3, but Barton county’s Peter Grigorev rallied to win the next two sets by scores of 6-0, 6-2.

“Boomer had an excellent tournament,” Cobble said. “He got an early lead in the finals before the momentum shifted on him. Still, he played well on the weekend.”

Sean Cobble won his third place match at No. 4 singles and teamed with Saia to capture third place in No. 2 doubles.

Barton County took home the Region title, while Johnson County placed second.

Results:
DOUBLES
•No. 1 — Richard Filkuka/Diego Motivar (CC) defeated Dylan Gatton/Taj Harrison (Johnson) 6-4, 6-2; Filkuka/Motivar (CC) lost to Artur Latypov/Noe Losmozos (Barton) in title match.
•No. 2 — Sean Cobble/Boomer Saia (CC) lost to Zachary Buenger/Adam Rens (Johnson) 6-7, 2-6; Cobble/Saia (CC) defeated Lios Cabizuca/Ivan Michelli (Seward) in third place match.
•No. 3 — Bruce Maytubby/Ignacio Velez (CC) lost to Luis Sperb/Zachary Alholm (Johnson) 5-7, 1-6; Maytubby/Velez (CC) lost to Pettus/Salter (Seward) 4-6, 3-6.

SINGLES
•No. 1 — Filkuka (CC) defeated Mirko Perkusich (Seward) 6-0, 6-4; Filkuka (CC) defeated Harrison (Johnson) 7-5, 6-4 in title match.
•No. 2 — Motivar (CC) defeated Victor Mesquita (Seward) 6-2, 6-0; Motivar (CC) defeated Artur Latypov (Barton) 6-2, 6-3 in title match.
•No. 3 — Velez (CC) lost to Adam Rens (Johnson) 1-6, 1-6; Velez (CC) lost to Roberto Gomez (Seward) 4-6, 6-7 in third place match.
•No. 4 — Cobble (CC) lost to Roman Mendoza (Barton) 2-6, 3-6; Cobble defeated Luis Cabizuca (Seward) 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 in third place match.
•No. 5 — Maytubby (CC) defeated Zach Bradrick (Hutchinson) 6-0, 6-1; Maytubby (CC) lost to Luis Sperb (Johnson) 3-6, 1-6; Maytubby (CC) lost to Ivan Michelli (Seward) 5-7, 1-6 in third place match.
•No. 6 — Saia (CC) defeated Cody Beaton (Hutchinson) 6-0, 6-0; Saia (CC) defeated Keith Pipkin (Johnson) 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5); Saia (CC) lost to Peter Grigorev (Barton) 6-3, 0-6, 2-6 in title match.