LINDSBORG / SALINA, Kan. – The Concordia University Women’s Tennis team came within an eyelash of going 2-0 on Sunday (March 12) as it road tripped into Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference territory. The Bulldogs breezed past Kansas Wesleyan University of Salina, Kan., 7-0, before falling narrowly, 4-3, at Bethany College of Lindsborg, Kan. Concordia did its best work in doubles, going a perfect 6-0 on the day.
Head Coach Cam Long’s squad remains .500 overall at 5-5. Sunday marked the team’s first action since winning 7-0 at Sterling College (Kan.) on March 4.
“It was a tough way to end the day,” Long said. “We were a couple points here and there away from two wins. All in all, we shouldn’t be disappointed. A lot of players got new experience today and it should make us better for the long term. 7-0 against Kansas Wesleyan is very impressive, so it’s a positive day all around.”
The freshman Mariano Molano again did her part at the top of the lineup. She teamed with Tessa Blough on a 6-2 victory at No. 1 over their counterparts from Kansas Wesleyan. The Bulldogs continued their roll through doubles as the duos of Ella Dean and Gabrielle Heiser at No. 2 and Kylie Freudenburg and Brooke Hosick at No. 3 got the job done. The No. 3 doubles contest was won by a tight 7-5 decision.
Those performances in doubles set the tone for the ensuing success in singles. Molano kept up her perfect day (2-0 in both singles and doubles) with a 6-1, 6-4, victory over Michaela Crowe. At the Nos. 2 and 5 spots, Blough and Heiser won their respective clashes via tiebreaker. Other winners were Dean at No. 3, Hosick at No. 4 and Freudenburg at No. 6. The Coyotes fell to 0-6 on the season (also lost 6-1 to Doane on Saturday).
The match with Bethany was up for grabs during closely contested singles action. The Bulldogs ultimately lost the team score despite winning each of the three doubles matches. The groups were shaken up just a bit as Molano and Blough competed at No. 1, Dean and Tara Ferrel combined at No. 2 and Freudenburg and Heiser teamed up at No. 3.
This time, the critical tiebreakers went the other way in singles matches at Nos. 2 and 5. Molano won again by a 6-1, 6-4, score at the No. 1 spot. The only other singles win for Concordia was by default at No. 6. This was Bethany’s third match already against GPAC opponents. It fell by scores of 4-3 to College of Saint Mary and 5-2 to Midland.
Nonconference play will continue next Saturday (March 18) with a trip to Baldwin City, Kan., home to Baker University. First serve is set for 1 p.m. CT. The two programs last met in 2021 with the result being a 5-2 win for the Wildcats.