SEWARD, Neb. – After having its win streak snapped by Morningside, the Concordia University Men’s Tennis team will look to start a new one as it prepares to host rival Doane on Wednesday. First serve is set for 4:30 p.m. CT from the Bulldog Tennis Courts. Head Coach Cam Long’s squad owns an overall record of 7-6 (1-1 GPAC) while having defeated Hastings within conference play. The remainder of the April slate in the regular season features four GPAC matches and one outside of league play versus Grand View University (Iowa).
This Week
Wednesday, April 5 vs. Doane (6-10, 2-0 GPAC), 4:30 p.m.
--Location: Bulldog Tennis Courts (Seward, Neb.)
By the numbers
· The win streak for the Bulldog men was halted at five. They went a perfect 5-0 during the month of March. Another win may come in the form of a forfeit since Baker failed to inform Concordia of its lack of players prior to departure on the day the match was scheduled. During the win streak, the Bulldogs toppled the likes of Sterling College (Kan.), 7-0, Bethany College (Kan.), 7-0, Kansas Wesleyan University, 4-3, Central College (Iowa), 5-4, and Hastings, 7-0. Prior to the meeting with Morningside, Concordia had not lost since a 4-0 defeat at the hands of 10th-ranked William Woods University (Mo.) on Feb. 25.
· Morningside checked in at No. 4 in the GPAC preseason rating (one spot behind the Bulldogs), but the Mustangs are clearly improved. Their new-look team gave Concordia fits on Saturday. Morningside (11-5, 1-0 GPAC) took five of six singles matches and two of three doubles contests on the way to the 6-1 victory in Seward. At No. 5 singles, Manuel Rodriguez prevented the shutout by picking up a 6-0, 4-6, 6-4, victory for the Bulldogs. Concordia also managed to triumph at No. 2 doubles, 6-4, behind Hugo Fuentes and Shawn Springer.
· Through 13 matches, the Concordia men have gone a combined 39-36 in singles and 19-19 in doubles play. Rodriguez continues to clean up at the back end of the lineup and has won eight singles matches in a row to push his overall season record to 10-2. Three of his teammates have notched at least seven wins: Santiago Abadia (7-4), Fuentes (6-6) and Juan Rabellino (6-6). In doubles, Abadia and Eduardo Rojas have gone 6-2 as a tandem. Abadia was just named the GPAC Player of the Week on March 29. Fuentes won that same distinction on March 15.
· The Bulldogs would like to be able to avenge the two defeats they endured at the hands of Doane last season. In the 2022 matchups, the Tigers won by scores of 5-2 in the regular season and 4-1 in the semifinals of the GPAC tournament. Those results marked a reversal of the previous year (2021) when Concordia twice defeated Doane. The two sides have met in the GPAC semifinals in each of the past two seasons. Though the Tigers are 6-10 overall, they have played a challenging slate.
Next week
A busy stretch is coming up with Concordia slated to play April 12, 13 and 15 against the likes of Grand View, Mount Marty and Midland, respectively. As part of the home matches versus Mount Marty on April 13, the Bulldogs will honor their seniors, Juan Rabellino and Eduardo Rojas.