LINCOLN, Neb. – Representatives from each of the institutions that sponsor tennis descended upon Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln, Neb., Sept. 18-19 for conference bracket play. The official GPAC tournament will take place in the spring of 2021, but this event provided an early barometer for where individuals stand within the league. The Concordia University Men’s Tennis team emerged with a pair of titles courtesy of Joe Bindl and Octavio Velazquez.
Head Coach David DeSimone’s squad returned to action a week after defeating William Jewell College (Mo.), 4-3, to open up the 2020-21 season. That particular match was the only head-to-head contest the Bulldogs will engage in this fall.
Bindl came away with the flight C singles championship while Velazquez took first place in flight D singles. On his way to a title, Bindl (Papillion, Neb.) defeated Doane’s Logan Bornemeier, 6-2, 6-2, Morningside’s Jay’von McKinney, 6-1, 6-1, Doane’s Parker Hansen, 6-3, 6-1, and Midland’s Nathen Bitzer, 6-4, 6-3. The championship run for Velazquez featured victories over Midland’s Jared Thompson, 8-2, Doane’s Avery Martin, 8-5, Doane’s Brandon Linhart, 8-0, and Doane’s Josh Grosvenor, 8-4.
Seven Bulldogs competed in both singles and doubles. In other highlights, Eduardo Rojas reached the semifinals of flight B singles and Juan Rabellino did the same in flight C singles. Jeremiah Berryman (A singles), Isaac Howes (B singles) and Luke Zoller (A singles) were also entered into the tournament.
In doubles play, the combos of Berryman and Rojas (A doubles) and Bindl and Howes (B doubles) enjoyed the most success in making their way to the semifinals of their respective brackets. The duo of Berryman and Rojas defeated their counterparts from Mount Marty and Doane before being upended by a pair of opponents from Midland.
The final event on the fall schedule is the upcoming ITA Central Regional Championships this Friday through Sunday (Sept. 25-27) in Winfield, Kan. The 2021 spring schedule has not yet been announced.
Concordia Tennis highlights at GPAC Individual Tournament
· Claudia Miranda Viera: B flight singles champion
· Katie Seja def. Luisa Esquivel for C flight singles title
· Julia Phillips: D flight singles champion
· Ansley Gates/Katie Seja: B flight doubles champions
· Joe Bindl: C flight singles champion
· Octavio Velazquez: D flight singles champion