SEWARD, Neb. – As the temperature turns back cold this week, teams are shuffling schedules and the Concordia Men’s tennis team is no different. The Bulldogs will compete against Morningside on Friday (Mar. 22) and the University of Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday. Concordia dominated Central College (6-1) and fell to Midland (1-6) in a non-conference match the past two matches. Head Coach Lisa Hart has her team with a 5-8 overall record and 0-1 in conference play.
This Week
Friday, March 22 at Morningside (7-3), 12 p.m.
--Location: First Serve Tennis Center (South Sioux City, Neb.)
Sunday, March 24 at University of Nebraska-Kearney (8-6), 3 p.m.
--Location: Ernest Grundy Tennis Center (Kearney, Neb.)
By the numbers
· In the most recent conference rankings, Concordia was ranked 5th as Mount Marty and the Dawgs have played the only conference match heading into the current week. With hardly any GPAC games played, Coach Hart’s squad has the potential to move up in the standings and make their mark in the league. The team finished fourth last season and the program has not finished outside the top four since the 2017-18 season.
· The Bulldogs split the previous week in the win and loss column, dishing out a win and receiving a loss. With another example of the men’s team showing growth from year to year, Concordia bested (6-1) Central College (Iowa) as the year before the team scraped out a 5-4 victory against the Dutch. Hugo Fuentes, Santi Abadia, and Michael Bedrosian all gathered victories in their doubles and singles matches. Traveling to Fremont, the visitors were on the opposite end of a 1-6 loss. Grady Works stayed unbeaten on the day, winning in a two-set tiebreak (singles) and at No. 3s with Mitch Krumm (doubles).
· The Bulldogs have totaled 24 singles wins and 15 in doubles. Michael Bedrosian leads the team in singles with six, as Abadia (five) and Manuel Rodriguez (four) follow. The two pace the team in doubles victories (four) and have the highest winning percentage (80) of the pairings. Abadia and Bedrosian have captured three and Luke Johnson and Grady works have collected two.
· The Mustangs come into the contest with a 7-3 overall record and will break into their first conference match against the Lancers on Wednesday. Morningside had a non-conference dual win (7-0) over Northwestern in their season opener but has shown promise in their losses to teams mentioned in the NAIA poll. In a 2-5 loss to No.6 William Woods, Skander Ben Abdallah and Gustav Sjoberg won in singles play. The Lopers come into the Concordia match with an 8-6 record and defeated (6-1) common opponent William Jewell in February.
Next week
Concordia will get a two week break before facing Northwestern and Doane. The Dawgs will host the Red Raiders on Saturday (Apr. 6) and the Tigers the following Wednesday.