Parada named MSC Men's Tennis Player of the Week

Source: Yahoo Sports

Feb. 21 -- Cumberland junior Julian Parada was named the Mid-South Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Week, announced by the league office Monday.

Parada, a Bogota, Colombia native, went undefeated in both singles and doubles play on the weekend against Milligan, Lincoln Memorial and No. 18 Union College. He and doubles partner Vitor Ferreria went 3-0 at No. 1 with wins over Nathan Smiley and Ryan Thomas from Milligan, Sergio Sebastian Boneta Aranzeta and Alexandru Giurea from Lincoln Memorial with a score of 7-5, and Harry Jordan and Joao Pedro Cardoso from Union 7-5.

In singles action, Parada went 2-0, besting Carter Rigsby from Milligan with a score of 6-4, 6-0. He followed that with a marathon match win over William Jonsson, ultimately emerging victorious with a score of 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in a match that took nearly three hours to complete.

Parada is the second straight Phoenix to earn Mid-South Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Week honors this season.

The Phoenix have a big week ahead as they travel to Georgia to compete in six-matches in Macon.

CU men win final matchup of weekend against Union 5-1

HARROGATE -- Rounding out last weekend's matches, Cumberland's men took down Union College (Ky.) in dominant fashion, 5-1, on Sunday.

Continuing the great run they've had since the fall season, Vitor Ferriera and Julian Parada took down another opponent at the top doubles spot. The pair jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after breaking the Bulldogs first service game, but Union came back and pushed Cumberland to a 7-5 game.

At the second doubles spot, Daniel Wessels and German Suarez also took a commanding lead at 4-0, yet again though they had to weather the storm to win a close match 6-4. No. 3 doubles did not fare so well however, with each team holding serve until the Phoenix were broken just before their final changeover, dropping their match 6-4.

Taking the momentum into single play, Daniel Wessels had the task of taking on the Bulldogs' No. 1 singles player. Wessels dropped his first service game and was forced to play from behind from the start, he regathered himself however and ended up taking the first set in a tiebreak 7-6 (7-4). The second set went by much more smoothly, getting Cumberland their second point with a 6-2 victory.

Vitor Ferreira played a marathon match at the No. 2 singles spot, playing a full three set match. The freshman from Brazil took the first set with just a single break, 6-4, but his opponent came back to dominate the second set, 6-2. Grabbing the third point of the day for CU, Ferreira took over in the final set and didn't drop a single serve, winning comfortably at 6-3.

Continuing the sweep up to that point, Adrijan Hrzic handled business at No. 3, winning 6-1, 6-3. Paul Daniel Meyer then grabbed the final point the Phoenix needed to clinch, winning his match No. 4 singles in a second set tiebreak, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).

German Suarez played out his match despite the match already being clinched, but would drop both sets by two games, 7-5, 6-4. The final singles match of the day would not be played though, so Dan Slapnik Trost will have to wait until this Thursday to get back onto the court.

Cumberland will hit the road this week to play a number of matches in Macon, Ga. The Phoenix's first opponent will be host school, Middle Georgia State University, with their match being scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday.

Women challenge Union but can't overcome No. 15 Bulldogs

HARROGATE -- After two marathon matches Saturday, Cumberland's women had the tough task of taking on the No. 15 team in the NAIA, Union College (Ky.).

After taking the doubles point, the Bulldogs ran with the momentum and took the match to an early clinch, winning 4-1 over Cumberland.

Doubles action was all Bulldogs, with Juanita Mendez and Lara Zugasti struggling to find their footing, losing 6-1 at the No. 1 doubles spot. No. 2 and 3 both challenged Union, but the pairing of Maria Arbelaez and Alexandra Leisibach fell 6-3 in the middle slot, while Valentina Mendez and Kaede Hatano dropped the third spot, 6-4.

On the flipside, singles was much more controversial, though the Phoenix were rewarded little. Arbelaez took the top singles spot as she often does and pushed her highly touted opponent to just a single service break in set one, but the Bulldogs ultimately took the pole position, 6-4, 6-2.

Valentina Mendez was slow out of the gates, not winning a single game in her first set, but rallied in the second to force a third set. Her tiebreak heroics carried over to the final set, though the No. 2 from Union fought her way to another victory, 6-0, 6-7, 6-2.

With just one more point needed to put the match away, the pressure was all on Lara Zugasti to keep the Phoenix alive, and that she did. Losing the first set, she had to battle her way back from behind in the second, all in the hopes of forcing a third.

The senior from Spain did everything she could to keep Cumberland alive, taking the second set 6-2 and dueled with her opponent in the third but snuck away with a 6-4 victory in the third, giving the Phoenix their first and only point of the day.

Kaede Hatano played the final match of the day and gave the no. 4 spot all she had. Dropping the first set 6-0, it looked as though things were going south quickly, but she rallied in the second set and fell just short, 6-4.

With the match clinched and the Bulldogs having to play another match on the same day, the No. 5 and 6 singles never got onto the court, meaning the Phoenix dropped their final match of the weekend, 4-1.

Cumberland will hit the road this week to play a number of matches in Macon, Ga. The Phoenix's first opponent will be host school, Middle Georgia State University, with their match being scheduled for 1p.m. Thursday.

Men split with Milligan, Lincoln Memorial on first day

HARROGATE -- Cumberland's men had a long day last Saturday taking down Milligan in the opener before having a marathon match against host Lincoln Memorial falling 5-2.

"We played incredible doubles for both dual matches yesterday," Cumberland coach Thiago Lins said. "Taking all three very close doubles against LMU where they have a very good doubles line up. We had three singles match going three sets where Julian won in 2:44 and PD battled for 2:41 and saved several match points in an epic battle losing 7-6 in the full third. Daniel put up a great battle at 1 vs. a high skill player losing in three sets.

"We are so proud of the sportsmanship and dedication of this team to push one another. We spent over 10 hours on court yesterday in two tough matches and so proud of how we are competing this year and leaving everything there."

The doubles matches set a strong foundation for Cumberland's success against the Buffaloes, with Julian Parada and Vitor Ferreira securing a win against Nathan Smiley and Ryan Thomas with a score of 6-4 at No. 1. Daniel Wessels and German Suarez followed suit at No. 2, defeating Justin Rigsby and Diego Thiago Petry with a score of 6-2. Adrijan Hrzic and Dan Slapnik Trost won at No. 3 against Stefan Macheiner and Brayden Kennedy with a score of 6-3.

Transitioning to singles play, Milligan fought back with Stefan Macheiner claiming a victory against Daniel Wessels in a tightly contested match, finishing with a score of 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 at No. 1. However, Cumberland's resilience shone through as Vitor Ferreira battled to secure a win against Diego Thiago Petry at No. 2, triumphing with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2). Despite a setback for Adrijan Hrzic against Gonzaga Lafargaat at No. 3, Cumberland maintained its momentum.

The Phoenix swept singles No. 4, 5, and 6 with Julian Parada dominating his match against Carter Rigsby, finishing with a score of 6-4, 6-0. Cumberland's Paul-Daniel Meyer secured a win against Derien Janeke, and German Suarez delivered a commanding performance, winning his match against Gabrijel Kajic with a score of 6-0, 6-0.

Cumberland followed their match with Milligan with a six-plus hour long match that started at 6:00 p.m. against Lincoln Memorial.

Cumberland faced a tough battle resulting in a 5-2 loss. The Phoenix did realy sweeping the doubles matches against th RailSplitters. Julian Parada and Vitor Ferreira picked up a tough win against Sergio Sebastian Boneta Aranzeta and Alexandru Giurea with a score of 7-5 at No. 1. Daniel Wessels and German Suarez continued the momentum for Cumberland, clinching another tight win at No. 2 against Thom Hermans and Harper Mills with a score of 7-6 (7-5). Adrijan Hrzic and Dan Slapnik Trost added to Cumberland's tally with a hard-fought win against Nic Gosler and William Jonsson at No. 3, finishing with a score of 7-5.

Lincoln Memorial rallied back with strong performances in the singles matches to get the win, winning all, but one. Alexandru Giurea secured a victory against Daniel Wessels after a competitive match that concluded with a score of 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. Radu Florea extended Lincoln Memorial's lead by defeating Vitor Ferreira with a score of 6-2, 6-3. Cumberland's Julian Parada fought valiantly in a closely contested match against William Jonsson, ultimately emerging victorious with a score of 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in a nearly three hour match.

However, Lincoln Memorial's Franco Battaglino edged past Paul-Daniel Meyer in a hard-fought battle that concluded with a score of 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-0). Harper Mills secured another win for Lincoln Memorial against German Suarez with a score of 6-3, 6-3, while Thom Hermans wrapped up the singles matches with a victory against Fernando Flores with a score of 6-1, 6-1.