SEWARD, Neb. – Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Tennis continued its strong run with a 5-2 victory over Seward County Community College on Thursday (March 19) at the Bulldog Tennis Courts. The Bulldogs swept doubles play and secured four singles wins to take control of the dual as Velders dealt the finishing touches to clinch the match.
CUNE has an 11-2 overall record and has two more bouts in the next two days.
Concordia established momentum early by claiming all three doubles matches. At the No. 3s spot, Nick Velders and Ognjen Gajic completed the sweep with a 6-2 triumph. No. 1s Leo Lopez and Daniel Caballeros delivered a decisive 6-2 win over Theo Cabre and Gaspard Bicrel. The Bulldogs followed with another strong showing at No. 2s as Hugo Fuentes and Ben Chisholm earned a 6-4 victory.
The Bulldogs carried that energy into singles play, where four players notched victories. Velders picked up a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles. The returning GPAC Player of the Year, Velders, has an unblemished 11-0 record in individual play thus far.
Chisholm battled through a three-set match to defeat Juan Luzuriaga, 6-3, 0-6, 10-6, at the No. 4 position. Concordia continued to dominate the lower half of the lineup. Lopez turned in one of the most commanding performances of the day with a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 5 singles, and Santiago Abadia followed with a solid 6-4, 6-1 victory at No. 6. Abadia was down 1-4 in the first set before coming back to win in straight sets.
Seward County claimed its two points at Nos. 1 and 3 singles. Hugo Fuentes dropped a tight first-set tiebreaker before falling 6-7 (5), 2-6 at the top spot, while Daniel Caballeros was edged in a three-set battle at No. 3, 5-7, 6-1, 4-10.
Concordia (11-2) will get in the vans and make the trip to face Missouri Valley University (3-5) on Friday (March 20). The Bulldogs will start at 12 p.m. CT in Marshall, Mo.