LINCOLN, Neb. – Representatives from each of the institutions that sponsor tennis descended upon Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln, Neb., Sept. 18-19 for conference bracket play. The official GPAC tournament will take place in the spring of 2021, but this event provided an early barometer for where individuals stand within the league. The Concordia University Women’s Tennis team emerged with three singles titles and one doubles championship.
Head Coach David DeSimone’s squad returned to action a week after defeating William Jewell College (Mo.), 5-2, to open up the 2020-21 season. That particular match was the only head-to-head contest the Bulldogs will engage in this fall.
Singles titles were claimed by Claudia Miranda Viera (flight B), Katie Seja (flight C) and Julia Phillips (flight D). Luisa Esquivel was the runner up to Seja in flight C. In doubles play, Seja teamed with Ansley Gates to take the flight B title. Ten Concordia players took the court during the two-day event at Woods Tennis Center.
Miranda Viera’s path to a title included wins over Morningside’s Kelly Ngueyn, 6-2, 6-4, Mount Marty’s Tashlynne Badger, 6-4, 6-2, and Doane’s Brylee Lauby, 2-6, 6-4, 10-2. As the No. 1 seed in flight C, Seja toppled Doane’s Payton Stalder, 6-0, 6-1, Doane’s Dani Ruiz-Martinez, 6-0, 6-0 and Esquivel, 0-6, 6-2, 11-9. In flight D, Phillips cut through Hastings’ Morgan Wohl, 8-3, Doane’s Kailyn Groski, 8-2, Concordia’s Madi Smith, 8-1, and Doane’s Makenna Hoesche, 8-5.
The championship run for Gates and Seja included wins over counterparts from Northwestern, Hastings and two separate Doane pairings. The championship match was decided by a 6-3 score over Makyla Rice and Payton Stalder of Doane.
The final event on the fall schedule is the upcoming ITA Central Regional Championships this Friday through Sunday (Sept. 25-27) in Winfield, Kan. The 2021 spring schedule has not yet been announced.
Concordia Tennis highlights at GPAC Individual Tournament
· Claudia Miranda Viera: B flight singles champion
· Katie Seja def. Luisa Esquivel for C flight singles title
· Julia Phillips: D flight singles champion
· Ansley Gates/Katie Seja: B flight doubles champions
· Joe Bindl: C flight singles champion
· Octavio Velazquez: D flight singles champion