10/13/2012
Mobile, Alabama
Seminole State's Tendai Tapfuma and Wikus Myburgh recently competed in the 2012 Small College National Championships in Mobile, Alabama.
Only the final eight players or teams reach the Small College Nationals, as there are eight regionals around the nation. In the first round of play, or quarterfinals, Tapfuma and Myburgh faced off against De Romas and Bertram from Fresno City College California. After a tight first set of 6-4, SSC would close out the match with a bit easier second set 6-2, moving them into the semifinals.
The semifinal matchup came against NJCAA powerhouse Tyler Junior College's Rother and Berkowicz, who were the #2 seed in the NJCAA bracket. A very close first set went all the way to a tiebreak, with the Trojan men pulling it out 7-6 (7-3). TJC did not give up and came out hot in the second set, blowing away SSC 6-1, setting up a final super tiebreaker to decide the match. After going down 4-2 on the first change of sides, Tapfuma and Myburgh roared back to even things at nine all. TJC won the next point, giving them a match point. However, the SSC men made some unbelievable shots and ended up winning 12-10 in the tiebreak, sending them into the National Championship on Saturday October 13th.
The championship match was against Collin College's McSeveney/Bohrenstedt, which is a usual opponent for Seminole State as Collin College is only 3 hours away in Plano, Texas. The Collin men started off strong right away, taking the first set easily 6-1. Tapfuma and Myburgh totally changed the momentum in the second though, gaining a 5-2 lead and serving for the set. SSC would let things slip away though, with Collin eventually coming all the way back to force a 2nd set tiebreak where they won it 7-2.
This is the second straight year a Seminole State team has lost in the Fall Doubles National Championship, with Admire Mushonga and Oliver Andersen also losing to Collin College in the fall of 2011. In the past six years, a Seminole State doubles pair has played in four national championships, winning one in the fall of 2007.
