KEARNEY, Neb. – Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Tennis team was one point away from taking down preseason ranked No. 22 McPherson College (Kan.). Up 3-2, CUNE pushed the Kansas squad to the boundary but couldn’t find the final point to put the talented team away in the loss (3-4). The two teams met at a neutral site at the University of Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 1).
The Seward side is 1-1 and will to finish out their next opponent in the upcoming week.
“Proud of how we competed today against a very good ranked McPherson team. We just needed the final point to pull out the win but we found out a lot about ourselves today. It was good to play against outside competition and see what we need to work on. We are excited to get back to work in preparation for the rest of our season!”
Top Dawg Hugo Fuentes was pitted against Daniel Marcano but he was no match for the Spaniard finishing his opponent off in straight sets (6-2, 6-2). After a rough start in spring of 2024, the No. 1 player has continued his dual win streak to five after he ended last season winning four of his last five.
No. 2 Nick Velders and No. 4 Manuel Rodriguez need three sets to defeat their McPherson opposition but took the lid off the can of worms that put MC down 3-2 late in the team dual. Newcomer Velders defeated Arthur Nardy (6-2, 3-6, 6-3) and veteran Rodriguez bested Celien Botlan (2-6, 6-2, 6-2) in comeback fashion.
With two singles matches remaining, McPherson stepped up and took both for the team win. In singles, Concordia also featured No. 3 Ben Chisolm, No. 5 Santiago Abadia and No. 6 Joey Melzer. In doubles, Fuentes and Velders pushed the match at No. 1 but fell just shy, 7-6 (7-6).
The Bulldogs (1-1) will take on Iowa Central Community College in a non-conference matchup on Friday (Feb. 7). The two teams will meet at a neutral site in Fremont, Neb. at 12 p.m. CT.