PELLA, Iowa – In an evening full of on-court drama, the Concordia University Women’s Tennis team pulled through in tight situations and emerged victorious in Pella, Iowa, on Tuesday (March 21). The Bulldogs clinched the team win over NCAA Division III Central College when Tessa Blough outdueled her counterpart at the No. 2 singles spot (with two matches still to be decided at the time). Concordia wound up taking it by a score of 5-4 while rallying back from a deficit after doubles.
Head Coach Cam Long’s squad has moved to 3-1 in the month of March while improving to 6-5 overall. Said Long, “We did just enough to win. Tessa and Tara (Ferrel) were huge for us, pulling through after dropping the first set.”
The Bulldogs had gone 6-0 in their most recent outing that involved matches with Kansas Wesleyan University and Bethany College (Kan.) on the same day. The Dutch made Concordia work for this one while coming away with wins at Nos. 1 and 3 doubles. The Bulldogs salvaged an 8-5 victory at No. 2 doubles thanks to the work of Ella Dean and Ferrel. Concordia’s other doubles duos were Mariana Molano and Blough at No. 1 and Alana Lopez Pagan and Gabrielle Heiser at No. 3. The score was 2-1 (in accordance with NCAA D-III scoring rules that counts all doubles matches in the team scoring).
The top of the Bulldog singles lineup then did the trick in paving the way for a comeback. Molano dominate at the No. 1 position, 6-1, 6-0, while Lopez Pagan followed suit at No. 2, 6-2, 6-1. Concordia then capitalized on a chance to secure the team win. Ferrel at No. 3 and Blough at No. 2 both dropped their first sets before fighting back to triumph in tiebreaker situations. Blough’s 3-6, 4-6, 1-0 (4), victory made the team score 5-2 at that point. The Dutch then tightened it up by persevering at the Nos. 5 and 6 positions, held down in the Bulldog lineup by Brooke Hosick and Heiser, respectively. Molano pushed her season singles to 7-4 and is riding a four-match win streak.
As for Central, it has dropped to 5-9 overall this season. The Dutch compete as a member of the American Rivers Conference. The Concordia and Central women’s programs had not met since the Dutch claimed a 5-4 win in March of 2020.
The start of conference play is up next. The Bulldogs will welcome Hastings (5-3, 0-0 GPAC) to Seward for an 11 a.m. CT first serve on Saturday. Concordia will attempt to duplicate its 6-1 road win over the Broncos in 2022.