SEWARD, Neb. – All but one match remains in the regular season for Concordia University Men’s Tennis, which will have had roughly a week off by the time it travels to play Northwestern on Saturday. This past week, the Bulldogs went 2-1 with wins over Grand View University (Iowa) and Mount Marty while the loss came at the hands of Midland. Head Coach Cam Long’s squad enters the week at 10-8 overall (2-3 GPAC) while residing in fifth place in the GPAC standings.
This Week
Saturday, April 22 at Northwestern (9-7, 2-2 GPAC), 11 a.m.
--Location: NWC Tennis Courts (Orange City, Iowa)
By the numbers
· Entering the week, the top four teams in the GPAC standings are Doane (5-0), Midland (3-0), Northwestern (2-2) and Morningside (1-1). The two teams situated behind Concordia are Mount Marty (1-4) and Hastings (0-4). The Warriors have either shared or won the GPAC title outright every season since 2018. Midland is currently receiving votes nationally.
· In last week’s action, the Bulldogs went a combined 8-10 in singles and 6-3 in doubles. Team results included a 5-2 win over Grand View, a 5-2 win over Mount Marty and a 7-0 loss at Midland. Against Grand View, Concordia won four of six singles and two of three doubles matches. Versus Mount Marty, the Bulldogs won four of six singles and all three doubles matches. At Midland, Concordia won at only No. 2 doubles while getting shut out. Most notably, Shawn Springer and Thomas Van Haaren went 3-0 together at the No. 2 doubles spot. In singles, both Van Haaren and Manuel Rodriguez claimed two wins for the week.
· Collectively, the Bulldogs have gone a combined 48-51 in singles and 25-25 in doubles through 18 matches. Rodriguez paces the team with a 12-4 singles mark. Santiago Abadia is next in line at 8-7 while Juan Rabellino is 7-6 and Hugo Fuentes is 6-10. The most successful doubles combo has been Abadia and Eduardo Rojas, who are 7-4 as partners. Rodriguez and Springer have gone 3-1 when paired together.
· The 10 wins overall for Concordia in 2022-23 are an increase from the nine posted by the 2021-22 team. No Bulldog team has reached the 11-win mark since the ’10 squad coached by Amy Harms went 14-6 overall. That squad also went 4-3 in the conference (tied for third place) and reached the semifinals of the GPAC tournament. The program advanced to the GPAC tournament championship match for the first time ever in 2021.
· Concordia would like to repeat last season’s result when it knocked off Northwestern twice, winning by scores of 6-1 in the regular season and 4-1 in the GPAC tournament. So far this spring, the Red Raiders have beaten the same two opponents the Bulldogs have defeated in GPAC play: Hastings and Mount Marty. Northwestern finished the 2021-22 season at 9-9 overall.
Next week
The 2023 GPAC tournament is scheduled to take place April 28-29 in Omaha. Seeding will be announced once all GPAC regular season matches have been completed.