The No. 4 ranked Barton Cougar men's tennis team set the tone early and held firm through singles play Thursday, defeating No. 7 Seward County 6-3 at the Shannon Schartz Tennis Courts.

The Cougars built their advantage behind a strong doubles showing before leaning on the top half of the lineup to secure the ranked victory. The win adds another quality result for Barton in a matchup between Top-10 programs.

Barton grabbed two of three doubles contests to claim a one point edge, highlighted by an 8-5 victory at No. 1 from Charlie Alipoe and Raphael Ankrah.

The Cougars earned a tightly contested No. 3 match by Armando Sigauque and Kristian Tesevic who outlasted their opponents 9-7, overcoming Seward County's win at No. 2.

Carrying the momentum into singles, Barton struck quickly with decisive wins atop the lineup. Alipoe controlled the No. 1 position with a 6-1, 6-2 victory, while Ankrah followed with a 6-2, 6-1 decision at No. 2 to extend the lead.

Seward County picked up a pair of three-set wins in the middle flights including two come-from-behind matches over the Cougars' No. 3 Santiago Villarroya and No. 4 Armando Sigauque.  

Barton sealed the victory by winning the final two flights. Esi Molefe delivered a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 5, and Tesevic winning at #6 by battling through a super tiebreak for a 6-2, 3-6, 10-6 triumph.

Barton won the doubles battle by winning two of three matches, including a pair of victories decided by three games or fewer. 

In singles, the Cougars claimed four of six matches, with three coming in straight sets and another requiring deciding sets. Alipoe and Ankrah combined to drop just six total games across four sets at the top two positions, while Tesevic's super tiebreak victory provided the clinching sixth point.

The Cougars return to action April 9 at No. 2 Pratt. On April 14, Barton plays No. 5 Cowley College.