SEWARD, Neb. – By the middle of this week, the Concordia University Tennis team will have completed its conference regular season slate. The Bulldogs are readying to play at Doane on Tuesday and at Hastings on Wednesday. Originally, the match at Hastings had been scheduled for April 6, but was postponed due inclement weather. Concordia is looking to get back into the win column after a home loss to Midland over the weekend. Head Coach Cam Long’s squad stands at 6-7 overall (3-1 GPAC).
This Week
Tuesday, April 12 at Doane (8-4, 3-0 GPAC), 4 p.m.
Wednesday, April 13 at Hastings (3-6, 1-1 GPAC), 1 p.m.
By the numbers
· The 7-0 defeat at Midland snapped the Bulldogs’ four-match win streak. The streak included victories over Morningside, Mount Marty, NCAA Division III Central College and Northwestern. In the current GPAC standings, Concordia trails Midland (4-0) and Doane (3-0). The Bulldogs could still potentially earn a share of the conference regular season championship, but they would need to win twice this week and have Midland get upset by either Hastings or Doane. The Concordia men’s program is sill searching for its first-ever GPAC title.
· Dating back to the start of the 2021 season, Concordia is 9-3 against GPAC competition with all three losses being dealt by Midland. The Bulldogs had their best shot at winning a match last week at the No. 1 doubles spot, where the duo of Eduardo Luzzi and Juan Rabellino came up short, 7-5. Midland won more comfortably at the Nos. 2 and 3 spots, taking them, 6-1, and, 6-3, respectively. In singles action versus Midland, Concordia’s Shawn Springer came back to win the second set at No. 3 before falling in the tiebreaker. At the top two spots, Luzzi (2-6, 4-6) and Isaac Howes (2-6, 5-7) put up a fight despite coming up on the short end.
· Collectively this season, the Bulldogs have produced records of 38-40 in singles and 23-16 in doubles. Rabellino has gone 3-0 in GPAC singles matches while playing towards the back end of the lineup. The team’s overall singles wins leader is Howes, who is 6-7. Joe Bindl is close behind with five wins. In doubles, the duo of Luzzi and Rabellino is 6-3 while Jeremiah Berryman and Bindl are 6-4.
· Doane will be attempting to keep its own GPAC championship hopes alive. The Tigers have started out 3-0 in the GPAC with wins over Hastings, Northwestern and Morningside. Doane will also be looking for a measure of revenge after falling twice to Concordia last season. One of those losses came in the semifinals of the GPAC tournament. Hastings will be playing at Midland on Tuesday before hosting the Bulldogs on Wednesday. The Broncos are 1-1 in GPAC play with a win over Mount Marty and a loss to Doane. Concordia won last season’s matchup over Hastings, 6-1, in Seward.
Next week
The season will continue next week with a pair of nonconference matches – April 19 at Kansas Wesleyan University and April 20 versus Nebraska Wesleyan University. The home match on April 20 will serve as senior day.