SALINA, Kan. – The Concordia University, Nebraska men’s tennis team flexed its muscle on Saturday (March 22), taking down Kansas Wesleyan University, 6-1, and Avila University (Mo.), 7-0, in a doubleheader at the Salina Tennis Alliance Tennis Center. No. 3 Ben Chisholm won both his singles matches, only giving up five games.
The Bulldogs have won six of their last seven and pushed their season mark to 8-5.
Against Kansas Wesleyan, Concordia stormed to a 3-0 doubles sweep. Nick Velders and Hugo Fuentes topped Adam Hanson and Luke Craft 7-5 at No. 1, while Manuel Rodriguez and Grady Works edged Raul Davalos and Jacob Phelps 7-6 (4) at No. 2. Santiago Abadia and Ben Chisholm rolled at No. 3, 6-1, over Paul Jittawait and Gavin Chavez.
Singles play saw No. 1 Fuentes beat Davalos 6-3, 6-4, and Velders downed Hanson 7-5, 6-1 at No. 2. Chisholm routed Craft 6-0, 6-4 at No. 3. Velders, a Prairie State College transfer, has a 12-1 record and is four wins away from tying (16) the all-time single season win record (singles).
Works handled Jittawait 6-4, 6-1 at No. 5, and Abadia blanked Jack Hanson 6-0, 6-4 at No. 6. Kansas Wesleyan’s lone point came at No. 4, where Jacob Phelps outlasted Joseph Melzer 6-1, 7-6 (9-7). For the Bulldogs, the win over the 6-1 Coyotes was a confidence boost, a sign of their ability to dominate when clicking.
Later, Concordia faced Avila, likely emerging with a 7-0 victory. With the Bulldogs entering a different lineup, Manuel Rodriguez and Michael Bedrosian secured No. 2 doubles, with Abadia and Chisholm winning at No. 1. The two have amassed nine wins as a pair. The Eagles forfeited doubles No. 3 and No. 6 singles.
In singles, the top two seeds, Fuentes and Velders, didn’t give up a game going for a 6-0, 6-0 sweep in early singles play. No. 3 Chisholm (6-1, 6-0), No. 4 Rodriguez (6-0, 6-1) and No. 5 Melzer (6-1, 6-0) showed utter dominance over the Eagles, only giving up three games in total.
Concordia (8-5, 0-0 GPAC) will be back on the courts at home hosting Mount Marty (3-4, 0-0 GPAC) on Sunday (March 23). The Bulldogs will face off versus the Lancers at 1 p.m. CT inside the Walz Fieldhouse. They bested the Lancers earlier this season in a 5-2 win in a non-conference matchup.