SEWARD, Neb. – Postseason play is up next for Concordia University Men’s Tennis. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs are preparing to match up with fifth-seeded Northwestern in the first round of the 2023 GPAC Men’s Tennis Tournament, which is slated to get underway on Friday from the Fremont YMCA in Fremont, Neb. The tournament features the top six teams from the final regular season standings. Head Coach Cam Long’s squad wrapped up the regular season on Monday with a 6-1 win at Northwestern. The Bulldogs enter the postseason at 11-8 overall (3-3 GPAC).
GPAC Tournament – First Round (full pairings at bottom)
Friday, April 28 vs. Northwestern (9-9, 2-4 GPAC), 9 a.m.
--Location: Fremont YMCA (Fremont, Neb.)
By the numbers
· The men’s program has put together back-to-back solid seasons under Long’s direction. The 2021-22 placed third in the GPAC regular season standings and then reached the semifinals of the conference tournament. The 11 overall wins for this 2022-23 team are the most for the program in a single season since the 2010 squad (coached by Amy Harms) went 14-6. Since then, four Concordia editions have won exactly 10 matches (2011, 2017, 2019 and 2021). The program has hit the double-digit win mark eight times in the GPAC era. The program is in good hands considering the current roster has only two seniors, Juan Rabellino and Eduardo Rojas.
· The men’s match on Monday went Concordia’s way in rather decisive fashion. The Bulldogs dominated the Red Raiders while taking two of three doubles and five of six singles matches. The Bulldog combo of Hugo Fuentes and Juan Rabellino pulled out a 6-4 win at No. 1 while Northwestern had the edge at No. 2 by the same score (versus Shawn Springer and Thomas Van Haaren). In showing the depth of Concordia’s lineup, Santiago Abadia and Eduardo Rojas cruised to a 6-0 win at No. 3. The singles winners for Concordia included Fuentes at No. 1, 7-5, 6-4, Rojas at No. 3, 6-3, 6-2, Manuel Rodriguez at No. 4, 6-4, 6-0, Van Haaren at No. 5, 6-3, 6-2, and Rabellino at No. 6, 6-1, 6-0.
· Entering the GPAC tournament, the Bulldogs have produced combined records of 53-52 in singles and 27-26 in doubles. Near the back of the lineup, Rodriguez (13-4) continues to lead the team in singles victories. Three teammates have notched at least eight singles wins: Rabellino (8-6), Abadia (8-8) and Fuentes (7-10). In doubles, Abadia and Rojas have synched up nicely in going 8-4 as a combo. Abadia has won a total of 10 doubles matches (with four different partners). As a reference, program records for a single season are 16 singles wins (Jeremy Jank and Gabe Pohling) and 14 doubles wins (Glen Gutz and Tim Marshall).
· Concordia has reached at least the semifinals in each of the past three GPAC tournaments. A year ago, the Bulldogs defeated Northwestern, 4-1, in the first round and then had their season end in the semifinals at the hands of Doane, 4-1. The ’21 Concordia team made history by becoming the first in program history to advance to the GPAC tournament title match. Concordia has reached the GPAC semifinals 10 times since the conference formed beginning with the 2020-21 season.
· During the regular season, the Bulldogs captured GPAC wins over Hastings, 7-0, Mount Marty, 5-2, and Northwestern, 6-1. Midland emerged as the GPAC regular season champion with a perfect 6-0 league mark (Doane was the runner up at 6-1). Below are the national rankings for each GPAC squad, according to Massey Ratings:
o 42 – Midland
o 53 – Morningside
o 54 – Doane
o 56 – Concordia
o 67 – Northwestern
o 74 – Hastings
o 77 – Mount Marty
2023 GPAC Men’s Tennis Tournament
All matches held at the Fremont YMCA in Fremont, Neb.
Friday, April 28 – Quarterfinals
(4) Concordia vs. (5) Northwestern, 9 a.m.
(3) Morningside vs. (6) Mount Marty, 11 a.m.
Friday, April 28 – Semifinals
(1) Midland vs. 4/5 winner, 1 p.m.
(2) Doane vs. 3/6 winner, 3 p.m.
Saturday, April 29 – Championship
1:30 p.m.