Head Coach: Lisa Hart (1st season at Concordia; 22nd season overall as a college head coach)
2022-23 record: 12-9 overall, 3-3 GPAC (4th)
Key returners: Santiago Abadia (So.); Hugo Fuentes (So.); Luke Johnson (Sr.); Manuel Rodriguez (Jr.).
Key losses: Juan Rabellino; Eduardo Rojas; Shawn Springer.
Newcomers: Michael Bedrosian; Mitch Krumm; Ethan Phinney; Grady Works.
2023 GPAC All-Conference: Hugo Fuentes (HM singles/doubles); Manuel Rodriguez (singles); Juan Rabellino (HM singles/doubles); Eduardo Rojas (HM singles); Shawn Springer (HM doubles); Thomas van Haaren (HM singles/doubles).
Outlook
The announcement that came out of Concordia Athletics on Aug. 8, 2023, likely raised some eyebrows. Formerly the head coach of the women’s tennis programs at Virginia Tech and Washington State University, Lisa Hart was tabbed to fill the vacancy at Concordia. It’s a new type of challenge for Hart, a 21-year head coaching veteran and a University of Nebraska-Lincoln alum. Most recently the Associate Head Women’s Tennis Coach for the Cornhuskers, Hart didn’t have to go far to find Seward.
The position interested Hart because she saw strong administrative leadership in place and a strong Christian environment conducive to attracting top student-athletes. There’s potential for Concordia Tennis to blow up in a big way.
“I’m really enjoying it,” Hart said. “I keep waiting for things to change, but everyone is so incredibly nice and supportive. They’ve been that way since day one. It’s been a breath of fresh air. We have amazing student-athletes to work with – very appreciative, hard-working. The competition is going to be great this year. We just want to keep trying to improve a little bit every day and maximize our potential on and off the court.”
Hart has taken on a men’s program that finished the 2022-23 season at 12-9 overall and in fourth place in the GPAC. The 12 wins were the most for the program since it went 14-6 in 2010. The Bulldogs hope to build upon that success with a decidedly youthful roster that features one lone senior, Luke Johnson. The returning group also includes All-GPAC honorees in Hugo Fuentes and Manuel Rodriguez. Now sophomores, Fuentes and Santiago Abadia were regulars in the lineup as freshmen. Meanwhile, Rodriguez paced last season’s squad with a 14-5 singles mark.
Hart got a chance to see what these Bulldogs looked like in action during the fall portion of the 2023-24 campaign. The fall slate featured three weekends of tournament play and a pair of dual meets. Concordia endured losses to Mount Marty and NCAA Division II William Jewell College (Mo.) that it hopes it can learn from moving forward. There’s main takeaway from the fall that sticks with the Kansas City native Johnson.
Said the Biology major, “Talking about the fire Coach Hart brings to the team, our matches in the fall would be my highlight. There was a lot of energy as a team. There’s more watching of teammates and cheering teammates on. This year, there’s a loudness to our team. That’s something I’ve really appreciated and noticed. There’s an energy to our team.”
The trio of Abadia, Fuentes and Rodriguez combined last season for 29 singles wins and 23 doubles victories. They are joined on the 2023-24 roster by four newcomers: Michael Bedrosian (Fowler, Calif.), Mitch Krumm (Wichita, Kan.), Ethan Phinney (York, Neb.) and Grady Works (Lincoln, Neb.). Both Bedrosian and Krumm found their names in the dual meet lineup this past fall. The signs have been positive as the team ramps things up with the start of the second semester.
“The men’s team is going to be really exciting to watch,” Hart said. “They have a lot of energy, a lot of fire on the court. They’re extremely coachable. We have the potential to beat anybody in the GPAC on the right day. We have a new player, Lincoln native Grady Works – we’re excited about him. He’s joining us this semester. He played at a high level in junior tennis before taking the last couple years off. We expect that he’ll contribute for us. Luke provides this maturity on the court. We’re excited for his leadership. One through eight, they’re all going to be very important to our success.”
In the early stages of her tenure at Concordia, Hart is talking more about the process that it takes to reach a higher level, rather than discussing hopes of winning championships. The focus is on individual improvement that will translate into overall team improvement. The program has appeared in the GPAC tournament championship match as recently as 2021, however, the Bulldogs have never celebrated a conference title during the GPAC era.
Johnson may only have one season with Hart, but he’s relishing the opportunity to make 2024 the best it can possibly be while also laying the groundwork for future success.
Says Johnson, “Our team has a lot of good youth. It’s a pretty young team. I’m the only senior and not many juniors. There’s a lot of youth, and with Coach Hart, I’m excited to see how this team can develop in the next couple of years. As far as this year, getting in a lot of those tournaments was helpful. We have a lot of matches coming up in the spring. The more comfortable we can get before conference play, that will definitely help get us in the right mindset.”
The 2023-24 season will resume on Feb. 2 when the Bulldogs will take on Ottawa University (Kan.). The 2024 spring slate will be heavy on clashes with members of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. GPAC play is slated to get started in late March and will continue through the month of April. The GPAC Tennis Championships will move to Morningside University in Sioux City, Iowa, this year. Concordia and its GPAC rivals will attempt to dethrone Midland for the title.
The Bulldogs will soon find out where they stand. Says Hart, “I think we have a really good foundation in place with the players we have in the program. We want to continue to get better and be a little more competitive on the court. That’s going to be important. We want to make sure the players we recruit are the right fits for our program and our university. That’s a huge thing – making sure we have the right people on the bus so we can all pull in the same direction and make sure we maximize our abilities.”
View the complete Concordia Men’s Tennis schedule HERE.