PELLA, Iowa – The margin was razor thin on Wednesday (March 11) as the Concordia University women’s tennis team met up with Central College in Pella, Iowa. The NCAA Division III foe held off the Bulldogs, 5-4, in a hotly contested match. The top three singles spots all came down to tiebreakers.
Second-year head coach David DeSimone’s squad had beaten Coe College (Iowa) the day before as part of its spring break in Iowa. Concordia is 5-3 overall with one match left for the week.
“The women played well overall but lost some key super tiebreakers today,” DeSimone said. “We are excited to have the opportunity to play again and get better tomorrow.”
The Bulldogs fell behind 2-1 after doubles after dropping decisions at the Nos. 1 and 2 spots. They managed to salvage a victory at No. 3 doubles thanks to the work of juniors Ansley Gates and Katie Seja. They triumphed by an 8-6 score.
Senior Kirsten Wagner (No. 1) (6-1, 6-7, 10-6) and junior Claudia Miranda Viera (No. 2) (7-6, 1-6, 10-6) both fell in three sets as part of a series of nail-biting singles matches. The victories for Concordia came from No. 3 Allison Marshall (6-4, 4-6, 16-14), No. 5 Tara Ferrel (6-2, 6-1) and No. 6 Katie Krejci (6-2, 7-5).
The Dutch moved to 8-7 overall. With the help of Maddie Hartley, who won at No. 2 singles and at No. 1 doubles.
The final match of spring break week for the Bulldogs will take place on Thursday at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. First serve is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CT.