BOLIVAR, Mo. – The McKendree men's tennis team concluded play here Sunday afternoon on the third and final day of the Southwest Baptist Invitational held at SBU's John A. Bryant Tennis Center.

In Sunday's final day of action, the Bearcats posted a 2-2 record as two of their doubles teams won their respective flight championships, while junior Nanase Ebisu (Osaka, Japan/Hawaii Pacific) fell in the finals of the 'B' Singles Draw. For the weekend, the Bearcats posted a 24-9 overall record at the three-day event hosted by Southwest Baptist University. 

In the 'B' Singles Draw, Ebisu fell in the championship final to Harding's Cas de Ruiter, 6-2, 6-4. Ebisu went 3-1 in the 'B' Singles draw on the weekend as after opening the event with a first round bye, he defeated his fellow Bearcat teammate, sophomore Charlie Sanzo (Bristol, England/Fullerton College) and then picked up win over another teammate, senior Ryan Fung (Miami, Fla./Miami Palmetto Senior) in the semifinals to earn a spot in the finals.

Along with Ebisu, the Bearcats had three doubles teams playing in the finals of both the 'A' and 'B' Doubles Draw, in fact, the 'A' Doubles final featured two Bearcat doubles teams. 

In the 'A' Doubles Draw final, the Bearcats duo of senior Leonardo Frederico (Tijucas-Santa Cantrina, Brazil/UniCesumar) and freshman Benedek Szombathelyi (Budapest, Hungary/Hunfalvy Janos Bilingual Vocational School) earned an 8-2 win over Ebisu and his partner, senior Lorenzo del Biondo (Pescara, Italy/Abraham Baldwin College). 

Meanwhile, in the 'B' Doubles Draw final, Fung and sophomore Tomas Leston (Buenos Aires, Argentina/San Jose Hermanas Nuestra Senora del Rosario) picked up an 8-5 win over Harding's doubles team of Ricard Jove and Jayden Van Vreden. 

The Bearcats will return to the court this coming weekend (Sept. 17-19) as they travel to Greenwood, Ind., to compete in the 2022 ITA Midwest Regional Championships. The championships are being hosted by the University of Indianapolis and will be held at Center Grove High School.