SEWARD, Neb. – Close matches were contested up and down the lineup on Friday (March 12). Unfortunately, visiting Iowa Central Community College edged the Bulldogs out in in clutch moments while spoiling the program’s first home match of the spring. The Tritons won by a team score of 6-1 while triumphing in five of six singles matchups.
Head Coach David DeSimone’s squad is in the midst of a stretch of three-straight days with a match. Concordia (3-2) also slipped by a 6-1 score at Bethel College (Kan.) on Thursday.
For the second-straight day, junior Joe Bindl was responsible for the lone Bulldog team point. The Papillion, Neb., native managed to outlast Xavier Zumba in a third-set tiebreaker at No. 5 singles. On the other hand, Iowa Central came out on top in tiebreakers at the Nos. 3 and 6 spots and also eked out exceptionally close sets in all matches at the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 positions. DeSimone’s lineup again featured Gregor Lainer at the top.
Concordia missed out on the doubles point despite the work of Lainer and Jeremy Berryman at No. 2. They took a 6-3 decision over the combo of Merlin Bolema and Juan Gomez. In the other doubles matches, the Bulldogs endured defeats at No. 1 (Eduardo Rojas and Jack Kitson), 6-2, and at No. 3 (Luke Zoller and Juan Rabellino), 6-2.
Bindl has gotten comfortable at the No. 5 singles spot. He’s currently 5-0 in singles this season with three of those victories coming at No. 5. As a team, Concordia is a combined 14-16 in singles and 8-7 in doubles matches this season.
The Bulldogs will be right back at home on Saturday to host Tabor College (Kan.). First serve is set for 11 a.m. CT. Should inclement weather interfere, the match will be moved inside to the Fieldhouse.