SEWARD, Neb. – On the heels of opening conference play this past weekend, the Concordia University Men’s Tennis team is readying to play three consecutive days Thursday through Saturday. The Bulldogs will be at Mount Marty on Thursday before hosting NCAA Division III Central College (Iowa) on Friday and then Northwestern on Saturday. Head Coach Cam Long’s squad currently sits at 3-6 overall with a 1-0 conference mark thanks to the 4-3 win at Morningside on March 26.
This Week
Thursday, March 31 at Mount Marty (0-5, 0-3 GPAC), 1 p.m.
Friday, April 1 vs. Central College (5-5), 4 p.m.
Saturday, April 2 vs. Northwestern (7-3, 0-0 GPAC), 11 a.m.
By the numbers
· Dating back to last season, Concordia has picked up momentum against its conference rivals. The Bulldogs have won six of their last seven GPAC regular season matches. That run included a 5-0 conference start in 2021. The only loss during that stretch came at the hands of Midland, which remains the team to beat in the conference. The Warriors are currently receiving votes nationally. In the most recent GPAC ratings, Concordia landed at No. 3 behind Midland and Doane.
· The 4-3 win at Morningside represented the exact same team score from the 2021 matchup between the Bulldogs and Mustangs. In last week’s meeting, Concordia gained the upper hand in doubles thanks to the work of Eduardo Luzzi and Juan Rabellino at No. 1 (6-2) and Joe Bindl and Jeremiah Berryman at No. 2 (6-4). In singles, Rabellino clinched team victory when he took out Danny O’Brien, 6-1, 7-6 (5), in a match with hotly contested second set. Prior to win by Rabellino, Luzzi claimed victory at No. 1 (6-2, 6-2) and Isaac Howes stayed hot by taking a 6-3, 6-4, decision at No. 2. The rest of the Concordia lineup was filled by Shawn Springer at No. 3, Jack Kitson at No. 4 and Bindl at No. 5.
· Through nine dual matches this season, the men’s team has gone a combined 22-32 in singles and 14-13 in doubles matches. Individually, Jack Kitson (4-3) and Isaac Howes (4-5) pace the squad with four singles wins apiece. Eduardo Rojas (3-5) is close behind with three. In doubles, the most successful pairs have been Luzzi/Rabellino (5-2) and Berryman/Bindl (5-3). In addition, Kitson and Rojas (3-3) have teamed up for three doubles victories.
· From a career perspective, the career singles wins leaders among Bulldogs are Isaac Howes (31), Jeremiah Berryman (29), Joe Bindl (18) and Jack Kitson (17). Berryman is a fifth-year senior while the others are in their fourth years at Concordia. Howes won 13 matches in 2019 while Bindl is coming off an 11-win 2021 season.
· The slate this week includes an NCAA Division III foe and two GPAC opponents. Central College is a member of the American Rivers Conference. Concordia played the Dutch in 2020 prior to the COVID shutdown and won by a 6-3 final score in Pella, Iowa. In conference play, the Bulldogs hope to duplicate last season’s results when they defeated Mount Marty, 7-0, and Northwestern, 6-1. The Red Raiders played three NCAA D-III opponents last week and came away with wins over Nebraska Wesleyan University and Simpson College (Iowa).
Next week
Conference action will continue next week with a trip to Hastings on April 6 and then a home match versus reigning GPAC champion Midland on April 9.