SEWARD, Neb. – Two records fell on senior day in the 7-0 shutout win over Doane on Wednesday (April 16). Santiago Abadia (doubles) and Nick Velders (singles) captured single season win records as CUNE celebrated Manuel Rodriguez and Grady Works in the sunlight of the Bulldog Tennis Courts.
The program moved to 12-7 overall and 4-2 in the GPAC.
“It feels pretty good,” Rodriguez said. “Senior day, you always want to win. Getting a win with the other senior, it feels pretty good. We got the momentum and the win.”
With the Dawgs humming as a unit, No. 2 Velders clinched the fourth point over the visiting Tigers to defeat Diego Infante (7-5, 6-1). With the victory, the Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, native claimed the single-season record for singles wins (17) with more to chances to add on. Velders (17-2) surpasses Jeremy Jank (2009-10) and Gabe Pohling (2016-17) for the feat.
“Fall was really promising,” Velders said. “Starting here with Coach Hart and Coach Chevez, they gave me all the guidance that I needed to accomplish this. As a team, we work really hard, on and off the court. We just work hard and got it done.”
In doubles, seniors Rodriguez and Works jumped out on Doane’s Christian Jensen and Julio Avila (6-0) in a dominant display for the final time in Seward.
Rodriguez said, “His patience always makes me play better. He always says we are good. We are good. That helps a lot. In bad situations, when your partner is calm, it helps a lot.”
No. 2s Abadia and Ben Chisholm have been a pair that has been hard to break, and versus the Tigers was no different in the 6-2 doubles point winner. Abadia, out of Bogotá, Columbia, became the new single-season doubles win leader (15) with the triumph. The Colegio Nueva York product passed Tim Marshall and Glen Gutz in a record that has stood since the 1992-93 season.
No. 6 Michael Bedrosian took the first singles victory over Tanner Adams (7-6 (5), 6-1). No. 3 Works kept the Bulldogs rolling against Doane’s Andre Hartman (6-2, 6-3), going unbeaten on senior day.
After the clinch, No. 1 Hugo Fuentes ran through Jose Purizaca (6-3, 6-3), playing well through the sets. No. 4 Chisholm defeated Elliot Dassel in the only three-set bout (6-2, 3-6, 6-1), putting a stamp on the win in the final round. No. 5 Abadia clinched the match sweep against Julio Avila barely giving up a game in the 6-1, 6-0 drubbing.
Concordia (12-7, 4-2 GPAC) will wait for the final GPAC standings to be finished as the last match of the conference is on Friday (April 18).