SEWARD, Neb. – It’s time for the Concordia University women’s tennis team to put its impressive depth to use. In their first home appearance of 2019-20, the Bulldogs took five of six singles matches and two of three doubles contests while defeating Grand View University (Iowa), 6-1, inside the Fieldhouse on Saturday (Feb. 8) afternoon.
Named the 2019 GPAC Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year, David DeSimone likes how things are shaping up. Concordia (2-0) also topped NCAA Division II William Jewell College (Mo.) back in the fall.
“Our women did a lot of good things out there,” DeSimone said. “They competed and battled well. Not everything was going their way, but they found different ways to have some good results. That’s what it’s all about. I liked what I saw and I also think there’s a lot of room for growth and improvement. It’s always nice to start the year off with a win.”
The Bulldogs graduated a couple of key pieces from last year, including No. 1 player Marlene Maier. They hope to make up for it with talent up and down the lineup. Concordia earned the doubles point by triumphing at the Nos. 1 and 2 spots. The duo of juniors Allison Marshall and Claudia Miranda Viera won at No. 1, 6-4, while the combo of senior Kirsten Wagner and freshman Tara Ferrel outdueled its opposition by an identical score.
Those efforts led into singles action, which saw the Bulldogs earn wins from No. 2 Miranda Viera, No. 3 Marshall, No. 4 Ferrel, No. 5 Katy Krejci and No. 6 Luisa Esquivel. Concordia very nearly swept through singles. At No. 1, Wagner was edged in a tiebreaker.
“We’re very even at a lot of spots,” DeSimone said. “I know I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we are incredibly deep. That’s really nice to be able to work with for me as a coach. They push each other every day in practice. We’re interchangeable within a lot of positions.”
Grand View competes as a member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference. The Bulldogs were able to turn around what had been a 6-3 loss at the hands of the Vikings in February of 2019.
The Bulldogs will wait until Friday, Feb. 21 to resume action. On that date, Concordia will take on Sterling College (Kan.) in a match that will begin at 1 p.m. CT at Genesis Health Club in Lincoln, Neb.