LINCOLN, Neb. – The Concordia Men’s Tennis team made a quick trip to face off against NCAA Division III Nebraska Wesleyan University on Tuesday night (Sept. 10). After a series sweep in doubles, the Bulldogs took control early and defeated the Prairie Wolves (6-1) in their season opening dual.
Head Coach Lisa Hart’s squad starts out with a victory and commented on the opening dual.
“Our men’s team came out strong today and battled hard for every point. Very proud of both teams and excited for our upcoming tournaments - ITA championships and GPAC championships the last two weekends of the month.”
With the Dawgs up 3-1, No. 4 Manuel Rodriguez Berdud clinched the dual with his 6-2, 6-2 performance over Ian Armbrust. After the win, the Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, native collected his 27th singles victory in his career. No. 2s Rodriguez and Santi Abadia defeated Sam Rademacher and Tyler Blair (6-2) in doubles play. No. 3 Abadia continued his dominance over Rademacher with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout. Abadia and Rodriguez went 4-1 as a pair last year and have pushed their win streak to four inside the doubles’ lines.
No. 3s Michael Bedrosian and Grady Works kept the momentum going with their 6-2 defeat of Armbrust and Glenn McChristian. No. 5 Bedrosian battled over Blair in the first set (6-4) and turned on the jets with a 6-0 second set waxing. The Fowler, Calif., native led the team with nine singles wins as a freshman last season. In the final singles match, No. 6 Works only allowed his opponent three games before getting to the 12 he needed in the straight set (6-2, 6-1) victory.
Transfer No. 2 Nick Velders sliced his first win as a Bulldog, besting Gavin Nichols (6-1, 6-2). No. 1s Velders and Hugo Fuentes teamed up for the first time and gave up only one game in the 6-1 win over Nichols and Jacob Belfany.
No. 1 Fuentes fell (6-1, 3-6, 12-10) in a tough back and forth third set tiebreak to Belfany.
Concordia will be competing in the NAIA Central-West ITA Regional Championship and the Kansas Wesleyan University Invitational from Sept. 20-22 in Salina, Kan.