ARKADELPHIA- Even though it’s just October, Ouachita Baptist proved to be in midseason form in cruising to success throughout the 2010 Arkansas Collegiate Championships in Arkadelphia on Saturday. The Tigers swept four of six singles tournaments, as well as sporting the No. 1 doubles team in the tournament.
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The Tigers were led by undefeated singles play from senior Till Heilshorn at No. 1 singles and sophomore Tobias Kuhlman at No. 2 singles, while the pair also went undefeated at No. 1 doubles during the weekend. Ouachita freshman Helge Knuth and Ramon Abaitua were also undefeated at No. 5 and No. 4 singles, respectively.
“This was a good chance for us to play a lot of matches against some good teams,” Ouachita Head Coach Craig Ward said. “There is no substitute for match play. The new guys need a lot of play and this gives them a better feel for what team matches will be like in the spring. Till (Heilshorn) and Tobi (Kuhlmann) are showing the freshman what it takes to be successful at our level. We have a few things to work on but I thought it was a step forward.”
Heilshorn kicked off singles action with a 3-0 record in the No. 1 flight, defeating Andy Blair of Drury in the finals, 6-4, 6-0. In the semis, the 5′11 senior was tested in the first set, before pulling away with a 7-6, 6-2 victory over Mario Jakoviljovic of Tyler Junior College. In the first round, Heilshorn beat Harding’s Henrique Ruiz, 6-4, 6-0.
In No. 2 singles, Kuhlmann defeated Alex Ford of Harding, 6-2, 6-2 to begin play, while taking a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Pete Thomason of Tyler Junior College in the semis. In finals action, the Hassel, Germany native had no trouble with Drury’s Roman Gonda, as Kuhlmann recorded a 6-2, 6-2 win.
For No. 1 doubles, Kuhlmann/Heilshorn were tested in every match, including the 9-8 victory over Adam Edwards-Aldo Campos of Harding for the doubles title. The Ouachita duo also recorded a victory over Andy Blair-Roman Gonda of Drury, 8-6, and a 9-7 win over Mario Jakoviljovic-Pete Thomason of Tyler Junior College.
Ouachita freshman Roman Abaitua fought through a three-set semi finals victory to reach the finals and rolled to a 6-3, 6-0 win over Drury’s Carlos Salazar in the title match. In the semis it wasn’t so easy, however, as Abaitua battled back from a 1-1 tie to defeat Billy Bishop of Tyler Junior College, 7-5, 5-7, 10-6. In the first round, the Portugalate, Spain native won easily, 6-3, 6-0 over Harding’s Adam Edwards.
At No. 5 singles, it was much of the same thing for Ouachita freshman Helge Knuth, as a challenging second match was all that stood in the way of an undefeated mark. In the semis, Knuth lost the opening set 0-6, before coming back to defeat Tyler Junior College’s Javier Alvarez, 0-6, 6-4, 10-6. After two-straight victories, Knuth finished the afternoon with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Danny Loza of Drury to remain undefeated.
