COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A run of three matches in two days against NCAA Division II opponents is now complete for the Concordia University women’s tennis team. After struggling in an 8-1 loss to Southwest Minnesota State University in a contest that began Thursday morning (March 7), the Bulldogs picked themselves back up and won, 5-4, over Colorado College. Both matches took place at Burghart Tennis Courts in Colorado Springs.
Head coach David DeSimone’s squad also edged Colorado State University-Pueblo, 4-3, on Wednesday. Concordia is 6-3 overall.
“We came out a little bit flat in doubles and started out a little slow,” DeSimone said. “We did a better job coming out ready to play in singles, but by that time we were already down a little too much and didn’t have the momentum to carry us through. We turned that around nicely in the later match against Colorado College. We started out strong in doubles by taking two of the points and that gave us some energy going into singles.”
Senior standout Marlene Maier notched the lone win in Wednesday’s first match. She triumphed in No. 1 singles, 7-6 (5), 6-0. Katelinn Wurm put up a good fight at No. 3 singles. She fell in a third-set tiebreaker (6-2, 4-6, 10-6).
Maier and company then ended the trip on a positive note. In an evening tussle, Concordia won two of three doubles matches and then split singles to earn the team victory. Maier was again a winner at No. 1 singles. She outlasted her counterpart from the Tigers while improving her personal record to 7-1. Said DeSimone, “Her experience and level of play against high level opponents has been pretty beneficial. She helps push everyone else to greater success.”
Also in singles, Wurm at No. 3 and Angela Bell at No. 5 contributed victories. The lineup also included Kirsten Wagner at No. 2, Allison Marshall at No. 4 and Ansley Gates at No. 6. In doubles play, the Bulldog combos of Marshall and Wagner at No. 2 and Bell and Lindee Schultz at No. 3 came out on top.
Concordia is scheduled to have the next two weeks off from competition before returning to action on March 21 with a match at former GPAC rival Nebraska Wesleyan.