Back half of lineup keys win in fall opener at Bethel

By Jacob Knabel on Sep. 14, 2022 in Men's Tennis

NORTH NEWTON, Kan. – The depth of the Concordia University Men’s Tennis team made the difference on Tuesday (Sept. 13) afternoon as the Bulldogs began the fall portion of the 2022-23 season. The Concordia players earned wins in both singles and doubles as part of the 4-3 team triumph at Bethel College in a match played in North Newton, Kan. Two Bulldogs made their collegiate debuts on the court.

This is year two for Cam Long as head coach. He unveiled a new-look lineup after graduating a group of seniors that made a significant impact on the program.

“It’s great to come out on top to open the fall,” Long said. "I think our depth as a team is our biggest strength and it showed today winning in the back of the lineup. This match will be extremely beneficial for us heading into the GPAC tournament this weekend.”

The three Concordia players to earn wins in both doubles and singles were Santiago Abadia, Manuel Rodriguez and Shawn Springer. The Bulldogs got the upper hand in doubles thanks to the work of Abadia and Springer at No. 2 (6-2) and Rodriguez and Eduardo Rojas at No. 3 (6-1). Hugo Fuentes and Juan Rabellino teamed up at the No. 1 doubles spot and fell by a 6-3 score.

Concordia trailed the Threshers, 3-1, in the team scoring after the first three singles matches went final. The Bulldogs rallied back thanks to wins by Springer at No. 4 (6-0, 7-6, 1-0), Abadia at No. 5 (6-4, 6-0) and Rodriguez at No. 6 (7-6, 6-0). Long’s singles lineup also featured Rojas at No. 1, Fuentes at No. 2 and Rabellino at No. 3.

This was also the opener for Bethel, a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member that went 7-10 overall in 2021-22. Meanwhile, Concordia is coming off a 9-9 record last season.

The Bulldogs will be back in action this Friday and Saturday for the GPAC Fall Tournament that is formatted as an individual bracket style event. The tournament will be held at Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln and is slated to get underway at 9 a.m. CT both days.