SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia Men’s Tennis team will face two different opponents in the coming days, starting with Midland on Tuesday (Apr. 16) and at Hastings on Saturday. The Bulldogs fell to conference rival Doane and defeated their last non-conference opponent in Warburg College (Iowa). Senior day will be celebrated against Midland with the Luke Johnson being the lone graduate. Their record moves to 7-11 overall and 1-3 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC).
This Week
Tuesday, April 16 vs Midland (10-5, 4-0 GPAC), 4:30 p.m.
--Location: Walz Fieldhouse (Seward, Neb.)
Saturday, April 20 at Hastings (1-13, 0-3 GPAC), 11 a.m.
--Location: Dorothy R. Becker Tennis Facility (Hastings, Neb.)
By the numbers
- Concordia couldn’t find the answer versus the Tigers and found themselves losing 1-6 to the home team. With the match already won by Doane, No. 2 Santi Abadia came away with a straight set victory (6-4, 7-6), battling hard for the second round. Back and forth was the matches against Warburg, as the Bulldogs pulled out a 4-3 win over the Knights. Up 3-2, No. 1 Fuentes said goodnight to the hopes of Wartburg stealing a win on the road. The chances of winning looked slim after a 3-6 first set loss, but it didn’t faze the homegrown Spaniard. The sophomore roared back in the second set (6-1) with a decisive look in his eyes and finished off Cade Davis in the tiebreak. The other two singles points were captured by No. 3 Abadia (7-5, 6-0) and No. 4 Bedrosian (7-5, 6-2). No. 2s Abadia and Bedrosian rolled (6-0) and No. 3s Krumm and Works defeated the visitors, 7-6.
- The Bulldogs have totaled 31 singles wins and 21 in doubles. Michael Bedrosian leads the team in singles with eight, as Abadia (seven) and Manuel Rodriguez (five) follow. Abadia and Bedrosian have captured five doubles wins to pace the team. Abadia and Rodriguez have collected four, along with Mitch Krumm and Grady Works. Those two pairings are on three match win streaks.
- Luke Johnson is the only senior tennis player but has been an instrumental part of the program and the university. The Kansas City, Kan., native has a 5-5 singles career record and has a 3-4 doubles record this season. The Shawnee Mission North, product will graduate with a degree in biology. In the fall, he will begin pursuing a doctorate in biomedical studies at Kansas Medical. He will be getting married in May.
- Midland comes into the contest with an 8-5 overall record and a 2-1 conference showing. They are led by Ben Starman, Joren Stevens and Nathen Bitzer. Hastings remains winless in the conference and has totaled a 1-13 overall record. The Broncos are led by No. 1 Nick Smeltzer.
- Being the final week before postseason play, the Morningside Mustangs are at the top with a 4-0 conference record. Two teams remain with one loss, including Midland (2-1) and Mount Marty (2-1). Doane is right behind, having played an extra match and earning a 2-2 record. The teams at the bottom are Northwestern (2-3), Concordia (1-3) and Hastings (0-3).
Next week
Concordia will look to make the conference tournament with a win over Midland or Hastings. The GPAC championships will be played in Sioux City, Iowa hosted by Morningside on Apr. 26-27. The tournament will be held at the Mason Family Tennis Complex.