YANKTON, S.D. – After losing the doubles point in heartbreaking fashion, the Bulldogs showed grit, fighting back in two separate singles matches to snatch the road victory (5-2) from Mount Marty. No.2 Nick Velders and No. 5 Grady Works were instrumental in the rally as the senior clinched the winning point over the Lancers. The two teams claimed this as a non-conference match and will play for the conference standings later in the season.
Head Coach Lisa Hart’s squad (2-2) defeated Mount Marty for the first time improving in her second year as the leader of the Dawgs.
“So proud of our effort today,” Coach Hart said. “This match was an extremely long match - almost 5 hours long. Very proud of the tenacity and grit our entire team displayed today. Our players kept their enthusiasm and high play for an extended amount of time! Go Dawgs!”
Tied 2-2, Velders felt momentum slipping away after giving up his first set (6-7 (4-7)) and down 4-5 in the second. The Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, native clapped back winning three straight games taking set two (7-5). The Prairie State College transfer would give the Dawgs the late lead (3-2) after defeating Kazuma Kato (10-3) in the tiebreak third set.
Looking for the knockout swing, Works split sets with Lucas Latil (6-3, 1-6) and went to another 10-point tiebreak set. Latil squashed what seemed like all hope going up 9-3 in the set, but the senior out of Lincoln Southwest silenced his opponent for eight straight points to clinch the winning fourth point.
Down 1-0, No. 3 Manuel Rodriguez and No. 4 Ben Chisholm headed the initial resurgence and smashed two team points to take back the lead. Rodriguez took care of business in straight sets over Luis Lainer (6-3, 6-3) and Chisholm responded similar to other teammates with a comeback victory defeating Shriraam Anbanatan (4-6, 6-4, 10-2).
No. 6 Santiago Abadia kept the good times rolling over Kenzo Nishioka gritting out the initial set (7-6 (8-6)) and finished the final one, 6-4.
In doubles, Hugo Fuentes and Velders at No. 1s, won 6-3 against their opponents.
Concordia (2-2) will come back to Seward for its first home dual against Ottawa University (0-1) out of Kansas. The two teams will compete on Thursday (Feb. 20) at 11 a.m. CT in the Walz Fieldhouse. Last season, the Braves defeated the Bulldogs 7-0 in Lawrence, Kan.