Southwest Men’s Tennis concluded its season with an eight-match winning streak after starting 2-8. The team finished with a 10-8 overall record and earned the No. 5 seed in the playoffs. During their winning streak, the Bears defeated five MACCC opponents, including Itawamba, Meridian, East Central, Holmes, and Hinds.
In the postseason, Southwest faced Northwest in the first round but fell 5-2, ending their season. Freshman Juan Luca Cividini from Rosario, Argentina, was named to the all-MACCC first team. Cividini finished with a 15-4 record in singles play.
Senior players Thomas Simpson, Manan Kumar, and Juan Manuel Riano Cifuentes contributed significantly during the winning streak. Simpson, a North Pike High School graduate from Summit, said that focus and team chemistry were key to their success. “It means a lot to me, considering last year we finished ninth and didn’t qualify for regionals. Now, we’re seeded fifth,” he said.
Riano Cifuentes, from Bogotá, Colombia, reflected on the team’s progress. “It was awesome. Coming from last year, we were close to qualifying for regionals, and now finishing fifth is a big deal. Coach Dean is really proud of us,” he said. “Eight wins in a row is a crazy achievement for the program.”
Riano Cifuentes emphasized the importance of team unity. “We’re a family. Everything that happens to one of us affects everyone. We pushed because we knew we had a chance, and it worked. We finished strong and are heading to regionals,” he said.
Reflecting on his time at Southwest, Riano Cifuentes added, “We’ve worked hard to build the culture. It finally paid off.” The Bears finished the season 10-8 overall and 5-4 in conference play.
