Yakabu Lea bests No. 41 ITA-NAIA talent Jose Andres Perez Perez at Oakland City, Bears defeat Brescia (5-2), fall to Georgetown (5-2)
Shawnee State's Abubakar Yakabu Lea can certainly play the game of tennis.
The men's tennis program's top singles hand proved that in spades over the past three matches.
On Sunday, Yakabu Lea bested the River States Conference's best player and the No. 41-ranked ITA-NAIA talent in America in Jose Andres Perez Perez, claiming a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Perez at the No. 1 singles spot against Oakland City to claim the biggest individual victory in program history -- and put himself on the River States Conference map.
In addition to Yakabu Lea's big win over Perez Perez, the Bears, as a team, claimed a 5-2 victory over Brescia in River States Conference action to move to 2-1 overall in RSC play, before capping the week's play Wednesday with a 5-2 setback against Georgetown.
Oakland City highlights
Yakabu Lea posted a landmark win with his straight set victory over Perez Perez at No. 1 singles -- as Perez Perez fell to 10-4 on the year with the loss to Yakabu Lea. Abubakar's victory over Perez Perez adds to a season where the talented freshman already holds a victory over NCAA Division I singles talent Carlos Rodriguez Gonzales out of Lindenwood (Mo.). Perez Perez's three additional losses were to Giovanni Becchis out of NCAA Division I Austin Peay, William Jonsson out of NCAA Division II Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) and Malik Omarkhanov, who is the No. 9-ranked player in the NAIA out of Northwestern Ohio.
In addition to his win in singles competition, Yakabu Lea teamed with Zinedine Arva Purbo to claim a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Oakland City's Timo Mundschin and George Tsioumas at No. 3 doubles.
In singles play, Arva Purbo gave Sebastian Bahamondes an excellent run at No. 3 singles before falling 7-5, 6-3 while Ivan Wularu, at No. 5 singles, took the opening set on Louki Nivarlet, 6-4 before dropping the final sets 0-6 and 1-6. Zayden Rinehart added in a consistent effort at No. 6 singles, dropping a tight contest to Mundschin, 4-6, 6-7 (4-7).
Brescia highlights
Against Brescia, Shawnee State faced little trouble.
Zayden Rinehart and Keenen Lambert's 6-4 victory at No. 1 doubles didn't prevent the Bearcats from claiming the doubles point as Brescia won both No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to take a 1-0 match lead, but Shawnee State responded in a strong manner as in singles play, the Bears claimed five out of the six contested singles contests to claim victory:
- No. 1 singles: Abubakar Yakabu Lea def. Braedon Chrisite -- 6-1, 6-4
- No. 2 singles: Ishamael Dowuona def. Kasti Zviahintsev -- 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
- No. 4 singles: Ivan Wularu def. Diego Laguna -- 6-4, 6-1
- No. 5 singles: Keenen Lambert def. Parker Johnston -- 6-2, 2-6, 6-1
- No. 6 singles: Zayden Rinehart def. Sebastian Chacon Nunez -- 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
Georgetown highlights
Tuesday's play against Georgetown saw Shawnee State claim the doubles point as the Bears played impressively throughout. At No. 2 doubles, Shawnee State's Ishamael Dowuona and Ivan Wularu defeated Georgetown's Chase Hechemy and Tsugunosuke Hirose by a 6-3 margin, while the No. 3 doubles unit of Abubakar Yakaba Lea and Zinedine Arva Purbo defeated Georgetown's Andrew Kennedy and Matt Smith by a 6-4 count. The No. 1 doubles unit of Zayden Rinehart and Keenen Lambert also played strong tennis, falling to Georgetown's No. 1 doubles unit of Max Barriere and Will Barnes by a scant 7-6 (7-4) count.
In singles competition, Ivan Wularu was the lone winner, defeating Alex Stragier by a 6-3, 7-6 margin at No. 4 singles. Yakabu Lea's scant 4-6, 4-6 setback to Georgetown's Barriere -- the ITA-NAIA No. 67-ranked talent -- at No. 1 singles, and a 4-6, 3-6 setback for Ishamael Dowuona at No. 2 singles to Georgetown's Leo Schrimer rounded out the showings.
Additional
Shawnee State gets back to action Tuesday, April 2 at 2:30 p.m. when the Bears take on Midway (Ky.). in a River States Conference matchup.
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