LINCOLN, Neb. – The Concordia Women’s Tennis team made a quick trip to face off against NCAA Division III Nebraska Wesleyan University on Tuesday night (Sept. 10). With a doubles loss, the Bulldogs were able to climb out of an early season hole with five straight singles wins in their 5-2 road victory.
Head Coach Lisa Hart’s squad starts out with a triumph and commented on the opening dual.
“so proud of our women’s team for showing grit and heart after losing the doubles point to win the match in singles! Very proud of both teams and excited for our upcoming tournaments - ITA championships and GPAC championships the last two weekends of the month.”
No. 5 Alexa Richert clinched a 6-2, 6-4 win to prevail with Concordia’s first dual victory. In 2023, Richert was one of two reaching double digit singles dual wins in her freshman campaign. No. 3s Richert and newcomer Shea Kramer took Caitlin Hudson and Anna Burt in a 6-3 doubles match.
The uber-talented No. 1 Mariana Molano collected her 25th singles career win (duals only) in style with a 6-2, 6-0 match over Crystal Craft. The Bogotá, Colombia, native and All-GPAC nominee won 13 matches as a freshman and 11 as a sophomore playing at No. 1 the majority of her career.
No. 2 Chakira Derman only allowed three games before taking her opponent, Ella Ford, 6-1, 6-2. Her sister, No. 6 Ishane Derman, joins the Bulldog roster and takes a 6-3, 6-2 win from Hudson in her first collegiate showing.
The battle tested No. 3 Alana Lopez Pagan split the first two sets (6-2, 5-7) with Parker Brown but rose to the challenge with a 10-4 tiebreak set in her season opener.
No. 4 Tessa Blough split her first two sets (2-6, 6-4) with Burt and eventually fell 8-10 in the third set tiebreaker.
Concordia will be competing in the NAIA Central-West ITA Regional Championship and the Kansas Wesleyan University Invitational from Sept. 20-22 in Salina, Kan.