Concordia tennis concludes St. Louis trip
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Bulldog tennis ventured southeast to the hometown of Amy Harms (tennis operations) as both men’s and women’s squads went 1-2 on the weekend in St. Louis, Mo. On the men’s side, the Concordia Invitational Tournament played out Friday and Saturday with Greenville College (Ill.) taking the crown.
The Concordia women now stand at 8-6 overall on the season, while the men are 5-8.
The Bulldog men picked up their win with a 7-1 decision (No. 1 singles not played) on Friday over Concordia Seminary of St. Louis. Concordia swept through doubles and then got victories at singles Nos. 2, 4, 5 and 6. However, the team felt unsatisfied with their play in 8-1 defeats to both Greeneville and Concordia-Wisconsin on Saturday.
“They played well at times, but they certainly feel they’re not playing up to expectations,” Harms said. “It’s not about effort. Right now we’re trying to develop that consistency, but that’s not easy when we have not had consistent practice with the weather. We need to get to a point where we can grind out matches.”
The work of junior Nathan Wingfield and senior Cole Egger at No. 1 doubles served as a primary highlight on the men’s side. Wingfield and Egger went 2-1 on the weekend, including a victory over the duo from a steady Greenville squad. The Bulldogs’ No. 1 combo also showed toughness in winning four-straight games after falling behind 7-1 in their match against Concordia-Wisconsin.
The CIT tennis field proved to be exceptionally formidable this year.
“The CIT field has definitely risen,” Harms said. “The Seminary has their best team I’ve seen since I’ve been coming here. Mequon (CUW) has had a real strong team the last few years and Greenville is stronger than last year. There were no slouches.”
The Concordia women shook off an 8-1 loss to Lindenwood on Friday to take a 7-0 decision over Missouri Baptist in the first match on Saturday. The Bulldogs then fell 8-1 to McKendree University (Ill.) to finish up the weekend.
“The women played some really good competition,” Harms said. “With Lindenwood and McKendree they got some real tough tests. I thought we competed well. We beat Missouri Baptist and played solid and played well against a pretty good McKendree squad.”
The Bulldogs got good performances from senior Mikaela Barz and sophomore Liz Kjellsen at No. 3 doubles. The pair snagged Concordia’s only victory in the 8-1 loss to McKendree and came away pleased with their weekend effort.
The Concordia tennis teams have also taken some time this weekend to enjoy what St. Louis has to offer. Harms continued the tradition of taking the Bulldogs to the Spaghetti Factory. The team also has had a chance to go shopping and to hang out at the house of Harms’ parents for an evening that included a sloppy joe dinner on Saturday.
A return to conference play beckons on Tuesday as the Concordia women take on Hastings. The men will face the Broncos on Thursday. Both matches will be played at Concordia.