LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Concordia men’s tennis team opened its spring season at Genesis Health Club-South on Friday (Feb. 2). Falling in a narrow loss for the doubles point, the Bulldogs couldn’t find their footing in the 7-0 loss against Ottawa University (Kan.). Santi Abadia and Manuel Rodriguez collected a victory (6-3) in their doubles square off against the Braves, sealing the lone set win. The team out of Kansas was receiving votes in the preseason poll.
CUNE faced two other opponents in the fall and has totaled a 0-3 overall record.
With one win already taken by Abadia and Rodriguez at No. 2s, Hugo Fuentes and Grady Works battled against Bernard Figueiredo and Jhoel Quinonez at No. 1s, falling 6-4 late to the Braves. At No. 3s, Michael Bedrosian and Mitch Krumm garnered a couple of games but dropped their match (6-2) to Santiago Tartaglia and Julian Toloza.
Rodriguez at No. 5 singles put up a tough fight in the first set, losing a heartbreaker to Ben Russell and putting the Braves up two points. The junior, out of Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, caved by the skin of his teeth in the initial set tiebreaker, 7-6 (2-0), 6-0. Fuentes, at No. 1, was set to face Jarmo Perez and won five total games, but couldn’t string enough serve breaks together, dropping his match, 6-3, 6-2.
Ottawa won the other four matches in straight sets as well. The rest of the Bulldogs' singles lineup was Works at No. 2, Abadia at No. 3, Bedrosian at No. 4 and Krumm at No. 6.
Concordia (0-3) will take on fellow GPAC conference member Mount Marty (4-1) in Yankton, S.D. next Friday (Feb. 9). The Bulldogs will look to redeem themselves against the Lancers, as they fell 6-1 in the fall bout but lost in four separate tiebreak matches. With another match against Mount Marty set for Mar. 5, the next dual will not count towards the conference standings.