SEWARD, Neb. – The sunshine and almost 60-degree weather made the Bulldog Tennis Courts a premier place to compete on Friday afternoon (Mar. 15). Concordia Men’s Tennis took on Central College (Iowa) and was one match away from a sweep, finishing 6-1 over the Dutch. Hugo Fuentes, Santi Abadia, and Michael Bedrosian all gathered victories in their doubles and singles matches.
The Bulldogs move to 5-7 overall and will not get much rest before heading into another dual tomorrow. Head Coach Lisa Hart on claiming wins in extra sets and how the team played.
“Very proud of how we competed today. We showed a lot of grit by winning every 10-point breaker we played in. Michael (Bedrosian) showed heart after he dropped the first set. He kept his composure, and I love that we continue to grow as a team together. We are excited to play in another match against Midland tomorrow.”
Manuel Rodriguez and Fuentes at No. 1s, completed their doubles bout first against AJ Wilkins and Alejo Marcon in a 6-2 set victory. No. 2s Abadia and Bedrosian sealed the doubles point with a 6-4 win over Alex Slaymaker and Ayden Fletcher.
Taking the momentum from doubles, Fuentes caught fuego and flamed through Fletcher, 6-1, 6-2, only giving up three games before his fast finish. Michael Bedrosian fell to Travis Subbert in the first set (1-6) but found strength in the second set and endured a 6-4 second hard fought set. In the tiebreaker, the Fowler, Calif., native continued to fight and snatched the triumph from the Dutch.
Grady Works at No. 4, continued to pour on the visitors with a straight set (6-4, 6-3) knockout punch to take the team win over Central College. Abadia (No. 2) and Mitch Krumm (No. 6) were taken to the brink but showed fortitude in the tiebreaker sets to give the Dawgs six match wins. Abadia won over Wilkins (6-2, 1-6, 10-2) and Krumm over Slaymaker (6-3, 2-6, 10-6).
The Dutch (2-8) will face Northwestern-St. Paul (Minn.) over a week from today and then move into conference play. With only a couple of wins this season, they will look to get back on track. Their solo win came from No. 3 Marcon against the Bulldogs.
Concordia (5-7) will square off with Midland (5-3) but in a non-conference scheduled match. The two teams will meet at the Fremont Family YMCA on Saturday (Mar. 16). First toss is set for 11 a.m. CT.