Cardinals trump Bulldogs 9-0
SEWARD, Neb. – Visiting William Jewell College (Mo.) remained unbeaten on the 2012-13 campaign by picking up a 9-0 victory over Concordia in the Fieldhouse on Friday night. The Bulldogs dropped to 1-1 on the season, a week after defeating Bethany 5-4 in the team’s 2013 opening match.
The Cardinals rolled through doubles as partners Conner and Loree Hazelrigg (No. 2) and Jaimie Baker and Hana Lindbloom (No. 3) improved their records to an unblemished 4-0. William Jewell cruised to 8-1 victories at Nos. 1 and 3 and recorded an 8-2 triumph at No. 2.
The visitors from Liberty, Mo., out of NCAA Division III’s Great Lakes Valley Conference carried their superb play over to singles. After Carli Bisesi’s 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 6 over Liz Kjellsen, the Cardinals clinched the team win at No. 1. That’s where William Jewell’s Kristen Stivers defeated Concordia junior Katelyn Koll 6-2, 6-0 to run her singles mark to 3-0 on the season.
A pair of Bulldog sophomores provided the most resistance against a solid William Jewell squad. Despite losing 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4 singles, Concordia’s Hollenbeck contested each game closely. The same goes for Elyse Kohl at No. 5. The Lincoln native showed vast improvements in her game compared to her freshman season while dropping a 6-0, 6-4 decision to Loree Hazelrigg.
“Grace (Hollenbeck) played really well tonight,” head coach Amy Harms said. “The score doesn’t reflect that, but she was really competitive within those games and was putting together some good points and hitting the ball well.”
Kohl was especially impressive considering lack of experience.
“She’s a new player and this was her first singles match out,” Harms said. “She’s a pretty scrappy player. She can work the point. I was happy with her effort tonight.”
At No. 2 singles, Lindbloom topped Bulldog freshman Chelsea Haack, 6-2, 6-0. Meanwhile, at No. 3 singles, senior Lindsea Vaudt fell 6-2, 6-0, to Katy Lehenbauer.
Concordia will now have a couple weeks off before returning to action on March 1 when Bethel College visits Seward for a 3:30 p.m. match. Both school’s men’s teams will follow that same day at 6 p.m.
The break in the schedule allows the Bulldogs a chance to fine tune some of their weaknesses.
“(We need to work on) just hitting a lot of balls in a point situation,” Harms said. “And finishing points where if you have an opportunity ball – putting it away. We also need to be a little bit more confident in our serve and consistently being able to hit a good serve to get into the point.”