SEWARD, Neb. – One of the busiest stretches of the entire regular season is coming up this week as Concordia University Men’s Tennis is slated to play Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. The opponents will include Heart of America Athletic Conference foe Grand View University (Iowa) and then GPAC rivals Mount Marty and Midland. As part of the home matchup with Mount Marty on Thursday, the Bulldogs will recognize seniors Juan Rabellino and Eduardo Rojas. Head Coach Cam Long’s squad is coming off a 6-1 loss last week to Doane and sits at 7-7 overall (1-2 GPAC).
This Week
Wednesday, April 12 vs. Grand View (1-6), 2:30 p.m.
--Location: Walz Fieldhouse (Seward, Neb.)
Senior Day – Thursday, April 13 vs. Mount Marty (1-9, 0-4 GPAC), 1 p.m.
--Location: Walz Fieldhouse (Seward, Neb.)
Saturday, April 15 at Midland (10-7, 1-0 GPAC), 12 p.m.
--Location: Bulldog Tennis Courts (Seward, Neb.)
By the numbers
· After going 5-0 in the month of March, Concordia has gone 0-for-2 in April while up against two of the GPAC’s top squads. The Bulldogs were beaten by scores of 6-1 by both Morningside and Doane. In the new GPAC ratings released on Monday, Concordia landed at No. 4 behind Midland, Doane and Morningside. Teams 5 through 7 in the rankings were Northwestern, Hastings and Mount Marty, respectively. Currently, there are three GPAC teams without a loss in conference play: Doane (3-0), Morningside (1-0) and Midland (1-0).
· The loss to Doane on April 6 represented the only outing of last week. While the Bulldogs earned just a single team point, they were competitive in several matches. The team point came via a win from Thomas Van Haaren at No. 6 singles, 6-3, 6-3. At the No. 1 spot, Hugo Fuentes played tight with Jorge Chevez (7-6, 6-3), one of the GPAC’s top players. In addition, Concordia’s Shawn Springer was defeated in three sets at No. 5. In doubles, the Tigers won by respective scores of 6-0, 6-2 and 6-4.
· Through 14 matches this season, the Bulldogs have produced combined records of 40-41 in singles and 19-22 in doubles play. Four Concordia players have secured at least six singles wins: Manuel Rodriguez (10-3), Santiago Abadia (7-5), Juan Rabellino (6-6) and Fuentes (6-7). Rodriguez had an eight-match singles win streak snapped last week versus Doane. In doubles, Abadia and Rojas have been a successful tandem in going 6-3 as partners. Rodriguez and Springer have gone 3-1 as a combo.
· Rabellino and Rojas are the lone seniors on the roster. They will be honored on Thursday as part of senior day festivities. Rabellino arrived in Seward via La Barra, Uruguay, while Rojas hails from Bogota, Colombia. Rabellino has notched win totals of 19 in singles and 24 in doubles in his collegiate career. As for Rojas, he’s claimed win totals of 20 in singles and 27 in doubles. They contributed to the 2021 team that placed second in the GPAC and placed as the conference tournament runner up.
· Last season, the Bulldogs went 1-2 against this week’s opponents. Concordia was edged by Grand View, 4-3, defeated Mount Marty, 6-1, and was shut out by Midland, 7-0. So far in 2023, both the Vikings and the Lancers have won just one match apiece. On the other hand, the Warriors are looking to repeat as GPAC champions. They are receiving votes nationally.
Next week
The regular season will conclude on April 22 with a visit to Northwestern in Orange City, Iowa. The GPAC tournament will take place April 28-29.