SEWARD, Neb. – A strong start in doubles propelled the Concordia University women’s tennis team to its second GPAC victory of the season. The Bulldogs held off visiting Hastings for a 5-4 win in Seward on Wednesday evening.
First-year head coach Joel Reckewey’s squad improved to 3-9 overall and 2-2 in GPAC matches.
“I really feel we’re playing doubles well,” Reckewey said. “That’s setting the tone for the rest of the match. When we win, it’s usually because we play well in doubles. It sets us up on the singles court to keep that momentum going. We have girls stepping up and playing well at the right time.”
Despite freshman Emily Meisinger’s first singles loss of the conference season, Concordia found a way to pull out the team win. The Bulldogs got singles victories from senior leaders Grace Hollenbeck (No. 2) and Elyse Kohl (No. 3) and from freshman Allison Ebel (No. 5).
After breezing to a 6-0 win the first set, Hollenbeck had to gut out a victory that came down to a 10-set tiebreaker. She finished off Liz Harlow, 6-0, 6-7 (5), 10-8 for a crucial triumph.
“I’m proud that she pulled it out,” Reckewey said. “It could have gone either way. It’s very tough to win a 10-point tiebreak after losing the second set tiebreak. She didn’t have the momentum. At that point all strategies go out the window. It’s a fist fight. She just stayed strong.”
Hollenbeck also teamed up with Annie Horn on a snappy 8-0 win over Harlow and Maddi Shelton at No. 1 doubles. Horn and Hollenbeck are 3-1 in conference matches as a doubles pair and 7-5 overall. At No. 2 Kohl and Meisinger earned an 8-4 victory over Madison Fortunato and Jessica Zach, putting Concordia up 2-1 at the end of doubles action.
Concordia’s other GPAC win came by a 7-2 decision over Midland in Seward on April 11. The Bulldogs have suffered conference losses to Morningside, 6-3, and Nebraska Wesleyan, 6-3.
The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday with a pair of conference matches at neutral sites. The Bulldogs will play Northwestern (8-6, 3-2 GPAC) in Omaha at 10 a.m. before shifting focus to a 3 p.m. tussle with Mount Marty (0-4, 0-4 GPAC) in Lincoln.
