MCKINNEY, Texas - As Northwest faced its final consolation match of the NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships on Wednesday afternoon, Samuel Turner and Bratton Willoughby rose to the occasion.

With elimination looming, Turner and Willoughby delivered the Rangers' first win of the tournament, an 8-0 shutout of New Mexico Military Institute's Sameer Jain and Carel Van Der Maraw. The win helped keep the duo alive in the consolation doubles draw of Flight 2, while also earning them the distinction of winning the first national tournament match in Northwest history.

As a doubles duo, the win helped Turner and Willoughby collectively improve to 7-6 on the season when paired together. Both players also ran their overall doubles record to 7-9.

It was a big victory for the Rangers, who fielded losses in all other consolation matches. Beginning Tuesday afternoon, Kaleb Parish was eliminated with an 8-4 loss to Meridian's Will McCullough in singles and an 8-3 loss with John David Nelson in doubles to Hudson Harden/Alex Jaulin (Wallace State-Hanceville).

Chris Albert and Ian Gordon, representing the Rangers' top singles and doubles slots, were also eliminated on Wednesday. Paired together for doubles, the duo dropped an 8-1 decision to Gabriel Cuenca and Dante Despontin (Pratt CC), while Gordon fell 8-0 to Luke Oliver of Bevill State. Albert took an 8-2 loss in the back draw of Flight 1 Singles to Raul Davalos (New Mexico Military Institute).

Earlier in the day, Willoughby dropped a close 8-5 match to Ethan Cuzzort of Coastal Alabama-South, an opponent he faced earlier this season. Nelson lost an 8-1 decision to Prince Tsiang of Barton Community College, while Turner fell 8-0 to Justin Sowinski (Paradise Valley).

As the last remaining Northwest players left in competition, Turner and Willoughby are scheduled for another match at 11 A.M. Thursday morning, facing the winner of a consolation doubles match between Charlie Brady/Tanner Brevard (Jones College) and Carson Jones/Zander Meeks (East Central). Turner and Willoughby previously faced Brady/Brevard earlier in the regular season, with the Bobcats' duo taking an 8-4 win.


MAY 16-17, 2023
NJCAA MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Courts of McKinney /// McKinney, Texas

Men's Doubles Consolation
1. Gabriel Cuenca/Dante Despontin (Pratt Community College) def. Chris Albert/Ian Gordon (NWCC) 8-1
2. Samuel Turner/Bratton Willoughby (NWCC) def. Sameer Jain/Carel Van Der Maraw (New Mexico Military Institute) 8-0
3. Hudson Harden/Alex Jaulin (Wallace State-Hanceville) def. John David Nelson/Kaleb Parish (NWCC) 8-3

Men's Singles
1. Raul Davalos (New Mexico Military Institute) def. Chris Albert (NWCC) 8-2
2. Luke Oliver (Bevill State) def. Ian Gordon (NWCC) 8-0
3. Will McCullough (Meridian) def. Kaleb Parish (NWCC) 8-4
4. Ethan Cuzzort (Coastal Alabama-South) def. Bratton Willoughby (NWCC) 8-5
5. Prince Tsiang (Barton Community College) def. John David Nelson (NWCC) 8-1
6. Justin Sowinski (Paradise Valley Community College) def. Samuel Turner (NWCC) 8-0