by Benny Benton
SUMTER, S.C. – The Barton College men's tennis team fell one step short of winning the Conference Carolinas Tournament and earning an NCAA Tournament bid, dropping a 5-2 decision to No. 1 seed and nationally-ranked No. 28 University of Mount Olive Sunday at Palmetto Tennis Center.
The loss ended a great run through the tournament as the No. 6 seed for the Bulldogs, who finished the year with a 14-7 record. Mount Olive improved to 18-1 on the year after winning its second tournament crown in three seasons.
"We certainly took a step forward in our play this weekend," Barton head coach Tom Schrecengost said. "After losing several close matches in the regular season, we got another opportunity in the tournament and we made the most of it."
Like they had done in Saturday's semifinals against No. 2 seed King, the Bulldogs trailed 2-1 after doubles play.
For the second time this season, Barton's No. 1 duo of Jake McCartney and Rafael Ruiz defeated the Trojans' top team of Edgar Bub and Rik Wolthuis by an 8-6 margin. However, Mount Olive's No. 2 team of Matt Finnerty and Henric Falkenberg blanked Barton's team of Yaxi Pintado and Jorge Pradilla, 8-0, and UMO's No. 3 squad held off the Bulldogs' No. 3 pairing of Max Leppert and Nick Genest, 8-6.
Unlike Saturday, however, Barton was not able to rally in singles play against a Mount Olive team that featured two regionally-ranked players, No. 17 Bub and No. 20 Finnerty.
In the two rivals' earlier meeting this year, McCartney knocked off Bub at the No. 1 spot. However, Bub exacted his revenge on Sunday, posting a 6-2, 6-3 victory over the Freshman of the Year. Finnerty made easy work of Barton other's all-conference selection as well, cruising past Ruiz, 6-0, 6-2. Falkenberg gave UMO its other point, downing Leppert in the No. 3 slot, 6-2, 6-1.
Barton did get one victory in singles, with Daniel Radu finishing off Brahm Moolman, 6-2, 6-1, at the No. 6 position before Mount Olive sealed its win.
The Bulldogs were making their first appearance in the Conference Carolinas Tournament's championship match since 2007.
"It's unfortunate that we lost to Mount Olive, but they didn't get to be ranked 28th and have a record of 18-1 by accident," Schrecengost said. "The only loss they've had all year was to a Division I team (East Carolina University). We lost 5-2, and of the two matches left on the court, we were winning one. So if we had played it out, it could potentially have been 6-3.
"Our players showed they had improved, so there's nothing to feel bad about. We should gain some confidence from this week and we've got everyone coming back next season. So we're taking nothing but positives from this tournament."
