SEWARD, Neb. – The top seeds, Mariana Molano and Chakira Derman, dragged the Mustangs into treacherous waters before finding their bearings to steal the match (3-4) in Bulldog territory. Without knowing, the early doubles point became the decider in the clash between two of the top teams in the conference. Veteran Tessa Blough came through with the third and final tally for Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Tennis and was the only Bulldog to finish 2-0 on the day.
The talented squad has its 10-match win streak broken, moving to 11-2 on the year and 2-1 in the GPAC.
“Today was an awesome day of tennis,” Coach Hart said. “We competed well and played well. Heartbreaking match to lose 4-3, but I know our players are committed to putting in the work to improve upon some things. They will get ready for the rest of our GPAC season and the GPAC tourney! I’m extremely proud of every member of our team - their energy and effort today were outstanding.”
No. 3s Blough and Alexa Richert started the Bulldogs off well with a big 6-3 victory in the early going. After the No. 1s fell (5-7), Chakira Derman and Alana Lopez Pagan had a 4-2 lead but were unable to cash in, falling 7-5 to Kailee Bailey and Stefany Simplicio.
In singles, Chakira came out screaming with a straight set triumph (6-2, 6-2) over Brooke Marshall. The Mustangs’ Lidia Suarez answered the bell with a 6-0, 6-4 over No. 5 Richert to go back up 2-1.
The battle of the No. 1 titans Mariana Molano and Line Jensen needed three sets to claim the best of the best. Molano came out firing with a win in the first set (6-1) but Jensen swung back in the second set (4-6) over the Columbian. Molano, a junior, cracked the final whip with a 6-4 victorious third, tying the score at 2.
With No. 3 Ishane Derman falling in her first collegiate singles dual, Lopez Pagan at No. 4 gave the final point needed for the visitors. No. 6 Blough calmly defeated Sophia Guntren with a 6-0, 6-4 two-set match, ending short one final point.
Morningside (13-5, 2-0 GPAC) leaned on Kailee Bailey, Stefany Simplicio and Suarez to finish the match in singles. The Mustangs will take on Northwestern at home next week.
Concordia (11-2, 2-1 GPAC) will take on the Red Raiders (6-6, 0-0 GPAC) after a break from the competition court. The Bulldogs defeated Northwestern 5-2 in the regular season and 4-1 in the GPAC tournament last year.