For the third time in three seasons the Northwest Missouri State men’s tennis team walked away as the MIAA Tournament Championship. On Sunday the Bearcats claimed a 5-4 victory over Southwest Baptist in a battle of top 30 teams at the Plaza Tennis Center.

No. 26 Northwest Missouri, who handed SBU its only conference loss of the year during the regular season, improved to 19-4 on the season. No. 28 SBU fell to 13-7 on the season as it was the second time this year Northwest knocked off their purple Bearcat foes and the second consecutive season of the two teams meeting in the MIAA Finals with the same result.

Northwest jumped out to a 2-0 lead as Guilherme Narducci and Rafael Bugiga claimed an 8-4 win over Kristof Kinal and Daniel Cardona at No. 2 doubles.

Calvin Patterson and Luis Altimires won their No. 3 doubles match 8-3 over Alex Belote and Tyler Welch as SBU earned its only doubles point at the No. 1 position. The two doubles points for Northwest proved important as all six singles matches came down to the wire.

In singles action the green and white Bearcats picked up wins at No. 2 and No. 4 singles, however SBU battled to take three matches as well at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 singles.

In the end though it was Northwest’s Jason Harris picking up a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles giving Northwest its third straight MIAA Title.

Northwest will now wait to see its fate in the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament as they look for their sixth straight postseason appearance. Last year Northwest fell in its first round match at St. Edward’s as the Hilltoppers claimed a 6-1 win.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Pittsburg State Gorillas stayed hot Sunday as they completed the four-game sweep of the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats taking games three and four 7-5 and 5-4.

Northwest fell to 14-28 on the season and 13-19 in MIAA play while the Gorillas improved to 18-23 overall and 14-18 in league play.

Game one saw the Gorillas jumping out to an early 2-0 lead plating runs in the first and second innings.

The Bearcats got on the board in the fourth thanks to a Landinn Eckhardt sacrifice bunt that plated Eric McGlauflin who had reached via walk to start the inning.

Pittsburg State answered back in the bottom of the fourth and then upped their lead to 5-1 in the fifth.

Northwest would rally in the sixth plating three runs off of hits from Charlie Krueger and JJ Baccari but the Gorillas’ bats would continue to stay hot in the home half of the sixth as they would tack on two runs of their own.

The Bearcats added a run in the seventh off of a Steven Garber single, his third hit of the afternoon, but that would be as close as Northwest would get.

Sean Brady recorded the loss on the mound for Northwest.

Game two once again saw the Gorillas strike first as they jumped to the early 2-0 lead in the first.

Northwest cut the Pittsburg State lead in half in the fourth thanks to a Gorilla error before tying the game at 2-2 in the eighth.

The Gorillas would retake the lead in the home half of the eighth off of three hits and one error.

The Bearcats would rally in the ninth as Baccari and Bedard would each record hits helping to put two runs on the board for Northwest but that was as close as the Bearcats would get as they would fall 5-4.

On the mound, Chris Green suffered the tough-luck no-decision scattering just four hits and striking out six.  Josh Parrish suffered the loss, allowing three unearned runs in eighth.

Jon Pomatto and McGlauflin recorded two hits each in the loss to lead the Bearcats offensively.

Up Next: The Bearcats continue MIAA action next weekend when they host Washburn.  First pitch of Saturday’s doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Playing for the second time in three days the Northwest Missouri State women’s tennis team fell 5-3 on Sunday to top seeded Southwest Baptist in the MIAA Women’s Tennis Championship at the Plaza Tennis Center.

Northwest fell to 12-12 on the year as SBU improved to 22-2 on the season after completing a sweep of the regular season and tournament titles. The loss likely brings an end to the season for Northwest as they will await their postseason fate.

After winning their last three doubles matches the No. 2 duo of Erika Leston and Leslee Feldhaus earned an 8-2 win as the only point for Northwest in doubles play.

In singles action Northwest picked up its only wins at No. 4 and No. 6 singles with Kim Ho and Emily Hoffman. Ho breezed to an easy 6-0, 6-0 win as Hoffman won 6-3, 6-1 at No. 6 singles.

That would be the only wins Northwest picked up as SBU ran past the Bearcats at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 singles to claim the MIAA Tournament Title.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State men’s tennis team advanced to the MIAA Men’s Tennis Finals with a 5-0 win over Truman State on Saturday as the Bearcats will look for their third consecutive championship at the Plaza Tennis Center.

The 26th-ranked Bearcats improved to 18-4 on the year as they shutout Truman for the second time this season. Northwest will take on Southwest Baptist in Sunday’s MIAA Championship match for the fourth time in the last six seasons.

SBU and Northwest are each 2-2 against each other in the four MIAA Championships since 2007. Northwest also took the regular season meeting between their purple Bearcat foes in rather easy fashion winning 5-1

On Saturday Northwest jumped out to an early 3-0 lead taking No. 3 and No. 2 doubles with ease. At No. 3 doubles Calvin Patterson and Luis Altimires breezed to an 8-0 win while Rafael Bugiga and Guilherme Narducci took an 8-2 win at No. 2 doubles.

In singles the Bearcats took wins at No. 2 and No. 4 singles to claim the 5-0 win.

Mario Jakovljevic bested Jake Ohlhausen 6-0, 6-3 to give Northwest a 4-0 lead before Guilherme Narducci claimed a 6-2, 6-1 win.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

It was not the ideal ending to a game, but the Northwest Missouri State softball team picked up a last inning 6-5 win to split with Truman State keeping its MIAA tournament hopes alive after falling 2-0 in game one Friday.

Northwest improved to 17-29 on the season with the split and 7-13 in league play while Truman fell to 22-27 overall and 6-14. The Bearcats now sit in the eighth and final spot for the MIAA tournament as they will wrap up their regular season against non-conference foe Sioux Falls on Saturday.

It was a tale of two different games as the night cap quickly saw more offense from both teams in the first inning. Truman scored two runs in the top half, while Northwest answered with a pair of its own in the bottom half of the inning.

TSU jumped back in front with a run in the second and a run in the fifth before Northwest would tie the game again in the bottom of the fifth.

In the fifth inning the Bearcats pulled even on Kayli Schurman’s 14th home run of the season, putting her just one shy of the single season record. Schurman finished 4-for-4 with three RBIs in the win as her base hit to lead off the seventh proved as the winning run.

Northwest grabbed a short lead in the bottom of the sixth on a Hailee Hendricks RBI double, but the Bulldogs would pull back even in the top of the seventh.

However after Schurman blasted a single of the center field wall a pinch runner for Schurman, Kailee Sherer, scored on a Truman error giving Northwest the win.

Morgan Brunmeier picked up the win working 2.2 innings of relief and only allowing one run on three hits.

Game one saw a pitcher’s duel as both pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts, eight from each hurler. In the end though it was Truman’s Kelsea Dorsey coming out on top to earn the shutout victory.

Jenna Creger faced tough luck as she scattered six hits and only walked one in the loss.

The Bulldogs got on the board in the fifth inning as Elizabeth Leath homered to lead off the inning. That would be all the run support TSU needed as they added a second run in the fifth inning.

Northwest stranded six base runners in the loss including the bases loaded in the second inning.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State women’s tennis team got off to a quick start Friday evening picking up a 5-0 win over Truman State in the first round of the 2012 MIAA Championships from the Plaza Tennis Center.

The Bearcats fell to Southwest Baptist earlier in the day, 5-4, to finish a postponed match from last week before opening the tournament against the Bulldogs. Northwest, who improved to 11-11 on the year, will take on No. 2-seed Washburn at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the semifinals while Southwest Baptist and Emporia State play in the other semifinal.

The Bearcats jumped out to an early 3-0 lead sweeping doubles action just as they did in their regular season match at the beginning of the month.

From there Northwest needed just two wins in singles play to claim the 5-0 win.

At No. 1 singles Camila Quesada took a 6-1, 6-1 win while Kim Ho closed out the match with a win at No. 3 singles. Ho finished off Maggi Schutte, 6-2, 6-1 giving the Bearcats the shutout and advancing into the MIAA Semifinals.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team added its final signee Tuesday with Blake Ruiz, a 6-5 guard from Beatrice, Neb., to give the Bearcats a total of four players for the upcoming 2012-13 season.

Ruiz helped lead Beatrice High to the Class B Nebraska State Tournament in each of his four years including a runner-up finish as a freshman and two third place finishes. He helped the Orangemen to a 22-3 record as a senior, averaging 14 points per game and eight rebounds.

The Second Team All-State guard was not only a three-year starter for the Orangemen hoops squad, but was the leading receiver on the Beatrice football team. Ruiz was also selected to play in the Blue-Gray High School All Star Football Classic held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Fla. in January.

Northwest is coming off a 22-7 campaign that saw the Bearcats claim the MIAA regular season championship and a berth in the NCAA South Central Region Tournament. The Bearcats also placed four players on the All-MIAA squad as third-year head coach Ben McCollum was named Coach of the Year.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Sophomore Cassie Lowell fired a 76 for the fourth consecutive round as she took home the MIAA individual title for the first time in Northwest Missouri State history on Tuesday at Paradise Pointe Golf Course.

Lowell followed up Monday’s first round score of 76 with a second round 76 as she finished with 11 pars in the round and added a birdie on the par-4 17th. Lowell’s individual win is the first MIAA title for the Bearcats in only their fifth year of the program.

As a team Northwest was able to hang tough, but a few missed puts allowed Fort Hays State to hold on to its lead and claim the team title with a 664. Missouri Western split the Bearcats and Tigers finishing second with a 665 as Northwest was just two strokes back at 667 in third place.

Freshman Steph Charteris followed her first day 81 with an 80 on Tuesday to finish third overall as Natalie Bird of Missouri Western finish second. Charteris carded two birdies to close out her first season with the Bearcats earning 9 top five finishes in 11 events.

Tuesday saw better numbers on the course as the sun and calm winds helped playing conditions. However, the better numbers showed up on more cards than just the Bearcats.

Ashley Powers improved her first round score of 89 with an 87 for a two day score of 176. Powers finished tied for 17th to close out her freshman season.

Kristian D’Angela pushed her score into the top four with a second day 86. However, her 94 on Monday gave her a 180 for the championship and a tie at 21st.

Northwest closes out its season missing out in the West Region of the NCAA Region Rankings falling outside the top 10. The Bearcats picked up five team wins during the 2011-12 season including two which came to close out the spring season.

— NWMSU Sports Information —