GREAT BEND, Kan. – Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Tennis suffered a tough 6-1 defeat at the hands of Barton Community College on Sunday, March 9, at Veterans Memorial Park. The Bulldogs struggled against a sharp Cougar squad that improved to 2-1, snapping momentum after winning five of their last six matches. Grady Works secured the Bulldogs’ lone point in the loss.
Now 6-5, the Cougars halted the four-game winning spurt but go 2-1 over the weekend.
“Barton is an extremely talented team,” Head Coach Lisa Hart said. “We fought hard against them but they are a team we need to play our best tennis for. Grady did a good job of playing smart tennis and helped us at the back end of the lineup. We look forward to the rematch with Mount Marty as we start conference play.”
The match slipped away at No. 4 singles, where Barton’s Shane Tapera clinched the victory for the Cougars by defeating Concordia’s Joseph Melzer 6-3, 6-2. Melzer battled hard but couldn’t counter Tapera’s steady play, which handed Barton an insurmountable lead and sealed the Bulldogs’ fate.
Across the singles lineup, the Bulldogs found little traction. At No. 1, Hugo Fuentes fell 6-0, 6-1 to Gabriel Garay, who set a punishing tone early. Nick Velders put up resistance at No. 2 but dropped a 6-3, 6-2 decision to Victor Alves. The Prairie State transfer took his first dual singles loss after winning 10 straight.
Ben Chisholm fought at No. 3, only to lose 6-4, 6-1 to Mohhamed Abuzed, while Santiago Abadia pushed Armando Sigauque to 7-5, 6-4 at No. 5 but couldn’t turn the tide. Grady Works provided a silver lining at No. 6, rallying past Hayden Loffler 3-6, 6-1 (7) in a gutsy three-set win that prevented a Barton sweep.
Doubles offered no reprieve for the Dawgs. Fuentes and Velders battled at No. 1 but fell 6-8 to Garay and Loffler in a close contest. The No. 2 pair of Manuel Rodriguez and Works was overwhelmed 0-8 by Alves and Tapera, a stinging shutout. At No. 3, Abadia and Chisholm couldn’t keep pace with Oliver Naude and Abuzed, losing 3-8 as Barton swept the doubles point.
Dropping to 6-5, Concordia now looks to rebound from this setback. While Barton is at a 2-1 start, the Bulldogs will regroup and refocus, to face Mount Marty (2-4) on Thursday, March 20 in their GPAC opener. The two will meet at the Bulldog Tennis Courts in Seward, Neb., at 1 p.m. CT. CUNE defeated the Lancers (5-2) earlier this season in a non-conference bout.