SEWARD, Neb. – The season is underway for Concordia University women’s tennis. Though the bulk of the 2018-19 schedule will be played in the spring, the Bulldogs have four events on the slate this fall. It got started on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 8) with a 5-4 victory over visiting Central College (Iowa) out on the Bulldog Tennis Courts.
Graduate assistant Javier Moreno is in his first season serving as coach of the Concordia women’s tennis team. Moreno played tennis for the Bulldogs for four seasons and graduated in 2017.
Mostly familiar faces held down positions in the Saturday’s lineup, with the exception of Alcorn State University (Miss.) transfer Marlene Maier. The native of Uppsala, Sweden, earned her first career win as a Bulldog, taking a 6-1, 6-0, decision over Karleigh Schilling at the No. 1 singles position. Seniors Katelinn Wurm (6-3, 6-3) and Kayla Smock (6-2, 6-1) also won their singles matches while competing at the Nos. 3 and 5 spots, respectively.
Concordia put itself in position to claim the team victory after triumphing in two of the three doubles battles. At No. 2, Wurm teamed up with sophomore Claudia Miranda on a 9-8 (2) victory. The competition was also tight at No. 3, where Smock and sophomore Allison Marshall squeaked by, 9-8 (5).
The Bulldog singles lineup also included Miranda at No. 2, Kirsten Wagner at No. 4 and Marshall at No. 6. Concordia is coming off a 2017-18 season that saw it go 13-10 overall and 3-4 in conference action. It reached the semifinals of the GPAC tournament.
An NCAA Division III squad, Central is now 4-2 overall. The Dutch defeated Nebraska Wesleyan, 9-0, in Lincoln before making their way to Seward on Saturday.
Next up on the schedule is next weekend’s (Sept. 14-15) GPAC tournament, which is purely an individual competition. It will be staged in Fremont, Neb.