KEARNEY, Neb. – A second straight significant challenge from a junior college foe came on Saturday (Feb. 18) as the Concordia University Men’s Tennis team went up against Pratt Community College out of Pratt, Kan. In action at Grundy Tennis Center in Kearney, Neb., the Bulldogs were defeated by the Beavers, 6-1. Manuel Rodriguez pulled out the lone victory for Concordia.
This marked the second outing of the spring for Head Coach Cam Long’s squad, which now sits at 1-4 overall.
“Mentally, we battled well and kept ourselves in the match even though I know a lot of guys thought they could've played better,” Long said. “I'm happy with how competitive we kept it, and we will hit the practice courts again this week to keep improving.”
Pratt swept through doubles, although the competition was tight at No. 2. That’s where the Bulldog duo of Hugo Fuentes and Eduardo Rojas was edged out, 7-6 (9-7), in a tiebreaker. The Beavers won at Nos. 1 and 3 spots by respective scores of 6-2 and 6-1.
Rodriguez kept Concordia from being blanked thanks to his 6-4, 7-5, triumph over Nathaniel Moore at No. 6 singles. Pratt won all other sets during singles play, although Alex Ballinger had to work hard to beat Fuentes at No. 3, 7-6 (4), 6-3. The remaining singles spots in the Bulldog lineup were held down by Rojas at No. 1, Shawn Springer at No. 2, Santiago Abadia at No. 4 and Juan Rabellino at No. 5.
Concordia was originally scheduled to host University of Saint Mary (Kan.) on Tuesday, but that match has been postponed (makeup date is to be determined). Next on the slate are two matches next Saturday (Feb. 25) in Fulton, Mo., against Tabor College (Kan.) and William Woods University (Mo.).