SEWARD, Neb. – By the end of the regular season, the Concordia University women’s tennis team had clearly proven itself as a top three team in the GPAC. If the Bulldogs are at their best, they can achieve just about anything this weekend at the GPAC tournament. At 5-2 in conference play, Concordia is the No. 3 seed in the bracket.
Coaches David DeSimone and Javier Moreno will lead the Bulldogs into Friday’s 11:30 a.m. CT quarterfinal matchup with sixth-seeded Midland. The winner will move on and play in the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. (complete schedule below).
Concordia would like to duplicate the result it got on April 9 when it won at Midland, 7-2, courtesy of two doubles triumphs and five singles victories in Fremont. Other than losses to top seeds Hastings and College of Saint Mary, the Bulldogs have been dominant against GPAC opponents. Sophomore Allison Marshall (7-0) and junior Kirsten Wagner (6-0) posted perfect singles records against league foes. Meanwhile, Marlene Maier was 6-1 in GPAC singles matches at the No. 1 spot. Maier’s 16 overall singles wins are believed to be a program record. As a team, Concordia went a combined 34-8 in singles and 15-6 in doubles in conference battles.
The Bulldogs have reached the GPAC tournament semifinals in each of the previous three seasons, but they have not advanced to the championship match since 2011. In that instance, Concordia was beaten, 5-0, in the title clash by Nebraska Wesleyan. The top two seeds above the Bulldogs in this 2019 bracket are No. 1 Hastings and No. 2 College of Saint Mary.
The conference tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the 2019 NAIA Tennis National Championships, which will take place May 14-18 in Mobile, Ala.
2019 GPAC Women’s Tennis Tournament
Friday, April 26 – Quarterfinals
No. 4 Morningside vs. No. 5 Northwestern, 11:30 a.m.
No. 3 Concordia vs. No. 6 Midland, 11:30 a.m.
Friday, April 26 – Semifinals
No. 1 Hastings vs. No. 4/5 winner, 4:30 p.m.
No. 2 College of Saint Mary vs. No. 3/6 winner, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 27 – Championship
10 a.m.