Tennis seasons come to a close at GPAC tournament

FREMONT, Neb. – The Concordia University men’s tennis team advanced to the semifinals of the GPAC tournament before being bounced by Nebraska Wesleyan in Friday’s postseason action. Meanwhile, the Bulldog women fell 8-1 to Doane in the quarterfinals in the single-elimination tournament that included six teams on both sides. The men had advanced to the semis by topping Midland 8-1 in the quarters.

The men completed the campaign with a record of 9-8 overall while the women finished 2-13.

“We couldn’t ask for a better way to close out the 2014 season,” graduate assistant James Ingrahm said. “The boys came out firing on all cylinders against Midland and jumped to an early 3-0 lead after doubles in a fairly routine 8-1 victory.”

The Bulldogs, seeded third in the tournament, dropped only three sets in singles play in their second win of the season over Midland. Concordia got singles wins from Nathan Wingfield (No. 1), Javier Moreno (No. 2), Patricio Esquivel (No. 3), Michael McCartney (No. 5) and Jonathan Douglas (No. 6) in the blowout of the Warriors.

That afternoon the Bulldog men ran into the second-seeded Prairie Wolves (13-5). Nebraska Wesleyan got the upper hand by winning all three doubles matches and then clinched the match with victories at Nos. 2 and 5 singles. Concordia’s lone win came at No. 3, where Esquivel dominated Zack Hicks, 6-1, 6-0.

“I’ve never seen our guys play better in doubles,” Ingrahm said. “Even though we ultimately ended up losing, I was happy. In the short term, winning isn’t everything – what you learn and how you improve is important.”

The Concordia women made a quick exit as the third-seeded Tigers dealt it an 8-1 defeat. The positive once again was senior Katelyn Koll, who topped Kendra Ritter, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 1 singles. Koll finished the season with a record of 10-4 at the top singles spot.

“The girls played very well against Doane and showed great improvement right down the lineup,” Ingrahm said. “I’m very proud that Katelyn went out with a win against a girl that she had a tough match with a few weeks ago.”

New head coach Joel Reckewey, who began his tenure with Concordia on Thursday, got his first look at both Concordia teams on Friday. Reckewey is a Lincoln native and former four-year letter winner at the University of Nebraska.

Three men’s seniors ended their Bulldog careers on Friday: Joel Kaldahl, McCartney and Wingfield. Koll is the lone senior on the Concordia women’s squad.