LAWRENCE, Kan. – The improvement compared to a season ago continues to be evident for Concordia University Women’s Tennis. The Bulldogs polished off their schedule for the month of March on Tuesday (March 28) with a 5-2 victory over Baker University (Kan.). The match, contested in Lawrence, Kan., saw the Bulldogs emerge victorious in four of six singles matches and in two of three doubles contests.
Head Coach Cam Long’s squad went 5-1 in March and has boosted its overall mark to 8-5. Concordia was coming off a 7-0 win over Hastings in its GPAC opener.
“We started off both singles and doubles play very strong and got up 3-0 quickly,” Long said. “We had a chance to put them away early, but Baker wouldn’t go away. Brooke (Hosick) played lights out in singles and it was just what the team needed to close out the win.”
The 3-0 lead in the team score was cut to 3-2 after the Wildcats claimed singles wins at the Nos. 2 and 3 positions. That’s when the bottom of the Bulldog lineup responded. Hosick won at No. 5 singles, 7-5, 6-1, while taking a tight first set. Then at No. 6, Gabrielle Heiser punctuated the victory with her decision in tiebreaker fashion, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 1-0 (8). Other winners in singles were Mariana Molano, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 1 and Ella Dean, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 4. The personal win streak for Molano (9-4 singles record) has moved to six.
Concordia did enough to get the doubles point as the Nos. 2 and 3 spots came through. Molano and Tara Ferrel did the trick at No. 2, 6-2, while Dean and Heiser took the decision at No. 3, 6-3. The combination of Dean and Heiser has been perfect at 5-0 on the season. Meanwhile at No. 1, the Bulldogs were defeated, 6-3.
Baker (0-5) has fallen at the hands of three GPAC opponents having also been beaten by Midland and Hastings. The Wildcats compete as a member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
The Bulldogs will resume conference play on Saturday when they will welcome Morningside (10-5, 0-0 GPAC) to Seward for an 11 a.m. first serve in a men’s and women’s doubleheader. It should be noted that Tuesday’s scheduled men’s match with Baker was not played due to a lack of players for the Wildcats. Concordia will seek to have that counted as a forfeit victory.