HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Lineup depth proved to be a difference maker as the Concordia University Women’s Tennis team ventured into action for the first time during the spring portion of the 2020-21 season. In a dual contest at Sterling College in Hutchinson, Kan., on Saturday (Feb. 20), the Bulldogs triumphed in two of three doubles matches and then split singles in the process of earning a 4-3 victory. The matches took place inside Prairie Dunes Country Club.
Head Coach David DeSimone’s squad improved to 2-0 in this season. Concordia also topped William Jewell College (Mo.) on Sept. 12.
This one could have gone either way considering three singles matches were decided by tiebreakers, two of which were won by the Warriors. At No. 6 singles, Concordia’s Luisa Esquivel managed to eke out a critical tiebreaker. Singles wins were also produced by Bulldogs in Claudia Miranda Viera, 7-6, 6-1, at No. 2, and Katy Krejci, 6-1, 6-3, at No. 5. DeSimone put freshman Sofia Morales at the top of the lineup while Tara Ferrel and Ansley Gates held down the Nos. 3 and 4 spots.
Concordia picked up the doubles point thanks to the work of Esquivel and Morales at No. 2 and Gates and Julia Phillips at No. 3. Both matches finished with 6-4 scores. At No. 1, the Sterling duo of Nicole Marin and Maddie Thrasher got the best of Ferrel and Miranda Viera, 6-4.
This marked the first dual match of the 2020-21 season for the Warriors, who compete as a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. Last February Sterling shut out the Bulldogs, 7-0, in a matchup that took place in Lincoln, Neb.
The Bulldogs will be much closer to home next Saturday (Feb. 27) when they take on another KCAC opponent in Bethany College (Kan.). That match will begin at 3 p.m. CT and will be held inside Genesis Racquet Club in Lincoln. The two programs last met in 2019 with the result being a 9-0 Concordia win.