SEWARD, Neb. – The 2019 Concordia University men’s tennis team took its season a step further, as compared to the 2018 squad that fell in the quarterfinals of the GPAC tournament. On Friday (April 26) morning, the fourth-seeded Bulldogs ended No. 5 seed Morningside’s season by taking a 5-0 decision in a GPAC quarterfinal clash. Then in the afternoon, Concordia bowed out of the postseason with a 5-1 semifinal loss to top-seeded Doane. Both matches were played at Fremont High School in Fremont, Neb.
A squad guided by coaches David DeSimone and Nikita Kostikov showed clear improvement from 2018. The Bulldogs went 10-10 overall in 2019.
“We had a great match against Morningside in the morning,” DeSimone said. “The guys started out with a lot of energy and purpose in doubles. Getting up 3-0 was a big confidence boost and we were able to capitalize with a few singles wins. Against Doane we started strong on all three doubles courts but they were too good down the stretch. We played well overall, but it just wasn’t quite enough. I’m very proud of all that these guys have accomplished this season.”
Doane (13-4) shared the regular season title with both Hastings and Midland and had already beaten the Bulldogs, 8-1, on April 2. In order to pull the upset in the semis, Concordia needed better results in doubles. The Tigers won all three, including a close 8-6 battle at No. 1 doubles, where Bulldogs in senior Thomas Greeff and sophomore Jeremy Berryman teamed up.
The lone Bulldog victory came at No. 4 singles with freshman Isaac Howes coming through with a 6-1, 6-3, decision. Doane locked up a spot in the GPAC championship match by grabbing wins at the Nos. 5 and 6 singles positions.
Concordia extended its season into the semifinals by toppling the Mustangs (4-13) without too much trouble. Doubles teams of Greeff and Berryman at No. 1, junior Luke Zoller and freshman Jack Kitson at No. 2 and freshmen Joseph Bindl and Howes at No. 3 all came out on top. The Bulldogs finished off the win by claiming singles triumphs courtesy of Greeff at No. 1, Berryman at No. 2 and Howes at No. 4. It was a perfect day of singles play for Howes.
This was the final day of college tennis for Greeff, who went 7-10 in No. 1 singles play in his senior season. Howes topped Concordia with a 13-7 singles mark for the year.