SEWARD, Neb. – At least so far this season, Midland is again proving to by a rung above the competition within the GPAC. In action in Seward on Saturday (April 9), the Warriors swept through doubles and singles on the way to a 7-0 win over the Concordia University Men’s Tennis team. The loss snapped a four-match win streak for the Bulldogs.
Head Coach Cam Long’s squad had been off since the previous Saturday due to a postponement in the schedule. Concordia slipped to 6-7 overall (3-1 GPAC).
“We got out to a slow start in both singles and doubles,” Long said. “Overall, I think we played well at many spots, but we dug too deep of a hole to overcome.”
Anyone in the league hoping to upset Midland (receiving votes nationally) will have to be at the top of its game. The Bulldogs had their best shot at winning a match at the No. 1 doubles spot, where the duo of Eduardo Luzzi and Juan Rabellino came up short, 7-5. Midland won more comfortably at the Nos. 2 and 3 spots, taking them, 6-1, and, 6-3, respectively.
In singles, Concordia’s Shawn Springer came back to win the second set at No. 3 before falling in the tiebreaker. At the top two spots, Luzzi (2-6, 4-6) and Isaac Howes (2-6, 5-7) put up a fight despite coming up on the short end. The rest of the Bulldog singles lineup included Eduardo Rojas at No. 4, Jack Kitson at No. 5 and Joe Bindl at No. 6.
Since the start of last season, Midland remains the only GPAC squad to defeat Concordia. Over their first four GPAC matches of 2022, the Warriors (15-4, 4-0 GPAC) have won three times by 7-0 scores and once by a 6-1 final.
The Bulldogs will be back in action on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. CT matchup at Doane (8-4, 3-0 GPAC). The Tigers remained unbeaten within the GPAC while defeating Morningside, 6-1, on Saturday. During the 2021 season, Concordia twice edged Doane – once in the regular season and once in the GPAC tournament semifinals.