FREMONT, Neb. – A chance to reach the GPAC championship match for the second time in three seasons presented itself on Friday (April 28) as the 2023 conference tournament unfolded at the Fremont, Neb., YMCA. The fourth-seeded Concordia University Men’s Tennis team edged fifth-seeded Northwestern, 4-3, in the quarterfinals before falling at the hands of top seed Midland, 4-0 in the semifinals. Seniors Juan Rabellino and Eduardo Rojas polished off their collegiate careers.
Head Coach Cam Long’s squad finished the campaign at 12-9 overall as the program posted its most victories in a single season since 2010.
“I know the guys were frustrated after the loss, but we emptied the tank in the second match,” Long said. “They gave Midland all they could handle early on but just didn’t have the energy after the long day. We will take the offseason to reflect and keep building stronger.”
Four days earlier, the Bulldogs took care of the Red Raiders decisively, 6-1, in the regular season finale. In the postseason matchup, Concordia got the doubles point after all three doubles matches were decided by 6-4 scores. The winning duos for the Bulldogs were Hugo Fuentes and Juan Rabellino at No. 1 and Santiago Abadia and Eduardo Rojas at No. 3. Shawn Springer and Thomas Van Haaren were narrowly defeated at No. 2.
It became a nail-biter in singles. Northwestern’s Brian VandenBerg outlasted Fuentes at No. 1, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, knotting up the team score at 3-3. That meant the outcome came down to No. 6 singles Rabellino sent the Bulldogs to the conference semifinals by taking a 6-4, 6-1, decision. Manuel Rodriguez also came through for Concordia with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-0, victory at No. 4 singles and Van Haaren produced a 6-1, 6-4, win at No. 5 singles. In other words, it was the back half of the lineup that lifted the Bulldogs.
Then in the semifinals, GPAC regular season champion Midland (17-7) showed off its might in ending the contest early. The Warriors picked up the doubles point with triumphs by scores of 7-5 and 6-2 at the Nos. 1 and 2 spots, respectively. Then in singles, Midland advanced to the championship match by way of victories at the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 positions. Just like the regular season meeting, Concordia wasn’t far off taking the doubles point. Abadia and Rojas owned a 6-5 lead before the match could be completed at No. 3.
The Concordia men’s program has reached at least the GPAC semifinal round in four straight GPAC tournaments. The Bulldogs had hoped to advance to the conference final just as the 2021 edition had done. Concordia has won a combined 21 dual matches in Long’s first two seasons as head coach.