LIBERTY, Mo. – Concordia went east stepping on the hard courts against William Jewell College (Mo.) on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 7). The Bulldogs would fight to compete with the division II opponents and No. 1 Charika Derman would relish a big time singles victory and her first dual win as a Bulldog. CUNE would fall 1-6 to the Cardinals.
Head coach Lisa Hart comments on the excitement of growing her team and upcoming spring matches.
“Very proud of how both of our teams progressed this fall. We are very excited to get to work in the off season and prepare for our dual matches in the spring!”
Derman battled for a triumph over Gwyn Gifford winning the first set (7-6) and then dropping the second (2-6), forcing a tiebreak set. Charika and Gifford had to play extra points, as Derman would take an 11-9 tiebreak victory.
No. 2 Alana Lopez Pagan would drop her match (2-6, 3-6) versus Julia Santos, as well as No. 3 Tessa Blough fell to Julia Rabiej in the same match finish. Lauren Gottberg at No. 4 would face Abby Candelier, losing in straight sets (1-6, 1-6).
Gabrielle Heiser at No. 5 couldn’t keep up with Maggie Shocklee in the (3-6, 3-6) match loss to the Cardinals. Alexa Richert would fall 8-5 to Molly McBratney in their singles match.
Doubles struggled to find a win with No. 1s Blough and Lopez Pagan taking on Rabiej and Santos in the eventual loss (4-6). No. 2s Derman and Heiser dropped their set (2-6) versus Gifford and Candelier, and No. 3s Brooke Hosick and Gottberg couldn’t win a game against McBratney and Shocklee, in an 0-6 final.
This concluded the fall season for the Concordia women’s tennis squad, ending this season with only this dual versus William Jewell. Under her watch, new head coach Hart will look to build the program before getting back into action in the spring.