Bishops wrap up fall season with five championship wins at MU

Fayetteville, NC - The Battling Bishop men's tennis team wrapped up their fall season in style this past weekend, earning championship wins all in five flights they competed in at the Methodist Fall invitational. Sophomore Alexey Rumyantsev (pictured) led the way with a 4-0 singles mark in the "A" draw to secure Wesleyan's first title. Other champions in their respective flights were Marcelo Prata (B singles), Erkut Cakmak (C singles), Anton Filinov & Clayton Sonn (A doubles), and Ilpo Kautonen & Evgeniy Bukatin (B doubles).

As a team, the Bishops turned in a 31-10 record in singles play versus players from Methodist, Guilford, and Averett, including six semifinal berths. In doubles action, Wesleyan boasted an 11-4 mark.

In "A" flight singles, Rumyantsev upset teammate Antti Saari 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 to take the championship. Saari finished 3-1 in singles play, while teammates Fred Lemongo and Artsiom Prostak each went 2-1 with quarterfinal appearances. Sonn and Filinov were each 1-1 in the draw.

In the "B" draw, Prata went 4-0 and defeated teammate Ramon Pardo Garcia 7-5, 6-4 to earn NCWC's second title. Pardo Garcia finished 2-1 in the tourney, as did Kautonen and Marcus RIbbenstedt. Bukatin was 1-1 in "B" singles action.

In the "C" draw, it was Cakmak who went 4-0, downing teammate Dominic Forsdike 6-0, 6-2 for the championship. Forsdike had previously defeated three players from Methodist to secure a spot in the finals, while Cakmak downed two Monarchs and one player form Guilford en route to the title.

In doubles action, Filinov/Sonn upset top-seeded Saari/Rumyantsev 8-6 in the "A" draw, and Kautonen/Bukatin turned in an 8-5 decision over Cakmak/Lemongo in the "B" flight.

NCWC has now wrapped up its fall season. The Bishops will now begin preparations for their 2010 spring slate in which they will be defending their 2009 USA South regular season and tournament championships.