MARSHALL, Mo. – A rigorous nonconference slate continued on Saturday (March 19) as the Concordia University Men’s Tennis team made its way to Marshall, Mo. An opponent that had received votes nationally this season, Missouri Valley College managed to win all three doubles matches and five of six singles contests in a 6-1 team victory for the Vikings. Isaac Howes came away with the lone victory for the Bulldogs.
Despite what the team score shows, Head Coach Cam Long saw reasons to be optimistic about Saturday’s effort. Concordia now stands at 2-6 overall.
“I was pleased with our play,” Long said. “Missouri Valley is one of the best teams we will face this season, so this match will help us moving forward. I’m happy for Isaac to get a win. He’s played a bunch of super tiebreakers so far this season and it was only a matter of time before he’d get a big win.”
The win for Howes came at the No. 2 singles spot over Jacopo Scottocornola (0-6, 7-5, 1-0). The response by Howes was impressive after he was defeated handily in the first set. At No. 1 singles, Eduardo Luzzi came close to forcing a super tiebreaker in what went down as a 2-6, 6-7 (5) loss.
In doubles, Missouri Valley got the team point thanks to a sweep. The closest the Bulldogs came to a win was at No. 2 where Joe Bindl and Jeremiah Berryman were edged, 7-5. The scores at Nos. 1 and 3 both ended at 6-3.
The Bulldogs will be on the road on Tuesday for an 11 a.m. matchup with Kansas Wesleyan University, a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference located in Salina, Kan. The two programs have not met since the 2018 season.