Men win, women fall in tennis doubleheader with Tabor

SEWARD, Neb. – In a home men’s and women’s tennis doubleheader with Tabor College held inside the Fieldhouse on Saturday, the Concordia men dominated in a 9-0 win while the women dropped a 6-3 decision. The contest marked the home opener for the men, who are now 1-2 overall. Meanwhile, the women, who defeated College of Saint Mary, 9-0, on Friday night, moved to 1-3.

First-year head coach Joel Reckewey liked the attitude displayed by the men, who won every single set over the Bluejays of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.

“I feel good about the way we came out in our home opener,” Reckewey said of the men’s performance. “Our guys were really prepared to play and looking forward to it. They had intensity from the get go and were ready to be at their best.”

Sophomore Javier Moreno picked up his first career win in the No. 1 singles position with a snappy 6-2, 6-0 win over Harry Faber. That effort came on the heels of an impressive doubles display that saw Concordia relinquish just a combined five games to Tabor.

The duo of Daniel Apacible and Jonathan Douglas at No. 2 doubles were near perfect in an 8-0 win over Jared Friesen and Stephen Wilson.

“We really got great performances from everybody,” Reckewey said. “Our doubles teams were clicking and guys were doing a great job communicating. You can see how they get along well and play well together.”

At No. 4 singles, Douglas moved to 2-1 on the season with his 6-1, 6-3 victory over Wilson. Apacible (No. 2) and Patricio Esquivel (No. 3) both won pro sets and Jonathan Heckman (No. 5) and Philip Yox (No. 6) made it a clean sweep throughout the singles lineup with victories of their own.

The women got the day started with first serve at 9 a.m. in a match that ended up going down to the wire. Senior Grace Hollenbeck fought back from a 3-0 deficit in the second set to claim a 6-4, 7-5 win at No. 2 singles, putting the team score at 4-3 in favor of Tabor at the time.

The Bluejays clinched the team victory at No. 3 singles in a drawn-out battle between Concordia’s Elyse Kohl and Tabor’s Becky Faber. After Faber won 6-0 in the first set, Kohl rebounded with a 6-4 win in the second to force a 10-point tiebreaker that went the way of Tabor, 10-4.

“The women had a very challenging match,” Reckewey said. “I’m very proud of the effort. Their No. 1 is very good and they have a deep team. We competed well and almost put ourselves in position to win. Overall I was impressed with how we played.”

Concordia freshman Emily Meisinger breezed to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Kiana Fujioka at No. 5 singles. Meisinger also paired up with Kohl for an 8-6 victory at No. 2 doubles. That gave the Bulldogs a fighting chance after Tabor claimed wins at Nos. 1 and 3 doubles.

Both Bulldog tennis squads will return to action next Saturday when they host Baker University, a member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference. First serve is set for 9 a.m. from the Walz Fieldhouse.