ORANGE CITY, Iowa – In a match that was postponed for a couple of days, Concordia University Men’s Tennis got the job done on the road. The Bulldogs won two of three doubles matches and five of six singles matches in a 6-1 win at Northwestern on Monday (April 24). Three Concordia players emerged from Orange City, Iowa, triumphant in both doubles and singles.
At stake in this regular season finale was the No. 4 seed in this weekend’s GPAC tournament. Head Coach Cam Long’s squad will enter the postseason at 11-8 overall (3-3 GPAC). Said Long, “It was a strong end to the regular season against a quality team. This is the type of energy we need to bring to be successful in the tournament.”
Two of the doubles clashes were competitive. 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.
In singles, the Bulldogs prevented any potential drama as wins at the Nos. 3, 4 and 1 spots (in that order) clinched the team victory. No tiebreakers or third sets were necessary. 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. Inside of conference regular season play, Concordia went a combined 17-19 in singles and 27-26 in doubles.
Notably, the Bulldogs’ 11 overall wins are the most for the program since the 2010 squad went 14-6. It’s also a jump from the nine wins Concordia earned in Long’s first season as head coach.
Northwestern (9-9, 2-4 GPAC) earned GPAC regular season wins over Hastings and Mount Marty. The Red Raiders will be the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament. Concordia has won five series meetings in a row over Northwestern.
As the No. 4 seed in the GPAC tournament, Concordia will draw Northwestern again in the first round of the bracket. Official pairings will be released when all regular season matches have been played. In the 2022 GPAC tournament, the Bulldogs got past the Red Raiders, 4-1, and advanced to the conference semifinals.