Tennis teams ready for spring season

by Chance Plett
Sports editor

After the most successful fall tennis season in Seward County Community College history, the Saints and Lady Saints are ready to begin the spring tennis season. The SCCC men open play Saturday and Sunday in Santa Fe, NM.

SCCC mens and womens head tennis coach Darin Workman said that the Santa Fe tournament will be a very difficult one, filled with many top schools.

"This tournament is a very good one; teams are accepted by invitation only," Workman said. "There will be some Division I schools there, including the University of Santa Fe, which will probably be playing for a national championship at the end of the year."

Seward County is led by its number one singles player, freshman Luis Salas. Salas, a native of Bargas, Toledo Spain is ranked No. 21 in the nation in singles play. When Salas is not competing by himself, he and teammate Juan Aguilera form a formidable doubles team. The duo begins the spring season as the No. 21 ranked doubles team in the nation.

New to the Saints roster is Brazilian Arthur Carrilho, who came to Seward County between the fall and spring semesters.

Workman said that the addition of Carrilho will bolster an already impressive team.

"Our top six is very good," Workman said. "We were fortunate to add Arthur (Carrilho); he is a good player too. He's definetly going to fit into our top six; it's just a matter of figuring out where."

As a team, the Saints are currently ranked No. 12 in the nation, but that lofty ranking doesn't automatically assure the Saints of success once Jayhawk Conference play begins. Three of the 11 teams ranked ahead of the Saints are conference opponents. Barton County is ranked No. 5, Cowley County is No. 7, and Johnson County is No. 8.

Although the men begin the season with a high ranking and perhaps higher expectations, they might still play second-fiddle to their female counterparts.

The Lady Saints tennis team carries a No. 5 national ranking into the spring season.

Seward County is led by freshman Alejandra Miranda who last October finished sixth at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Small College Championships to cap off the best ever fall season by a Lady Saint. The sixth place finish in the the national tournament earned Miranda a No. 3 ranking in NJCAA singles.

Being one of the nation's top singles players in only half of Miranda's duties, however. Miranda and teammate Veronica Bansemer finished fourth at the national tournament last fall and currently hold a No. 3 ranking in doubles competition. Like Miranda, Bansemer is also one of the nation's top singles players. Bansemer's No. 26 ranking makes Seward County one of eight teams with two players ranked among the top 30 nationally.

Workman said that he is trying to schedule a tournament against Southern Colorado on Feb. 28, but that if he is not able to, the women will not play until their conference opener March 4.

Like the men, the road to a conference championship will not be an easy one for the Lady Saints. Four Jayhawk schools are ranked among the nation's top 13 teams. In addition to Seward County at No. 5, Johnson County is No. 4, Cowley County is No. 6, and Barton County is No. 13.