SEWARD, Neb. – Another learning experience came on Wednesday (March 16) as the Concordia University Women’s Tennis team hosted Bethel College (Kan.) in the midst of warm spring weather. Unfortunately, most of the close matches went the way of the Threshers, who left the Bulldog Tennis Courts in Seward with a 6-1 victory. The lone Concordia team point came courtesy of Megan Hakes at No. 5 singles.
Head Coach Cam Long’s young team also endured a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Sterling College (Kan.) on Tuesday. The run of tough matches could serve the Bulldogs (2-5) in a positive manner as they progress towards conference action.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Long said. “There are a lot of good players in the conference once we hit the conference schedule so playing a match like we did today is going to be really helpful. We were really competitive. Obviously Megan won her super tiebreaker at five, so that was good to see. Tara (Ferrel) has a super tiebreak at two that she couldn’t quite pull out. Those were two good matches. Sofia (Morales) and Tessa (Blough) played really well at one doubles too. It was probably one of the better teams we’ve faced all season. There were a lot of good takeaways.”
Concordia found itself in a hole after the doubles matches were swept by Bethel. The Bulldog duo of Blough and Morales were clipped at No. 1, 7-5. The Threshers won a bit more comfortably at the Nos. 2 (6-3) and 3 (6-1) spots while picking up the team point.
As Long mentioned, both Ferrel and Hakes were involved in intense battles. A native of Erie, Colo., Hakes found a way to come out on top in the super tiebreaker at No. 5. Ferrel was edged at the No. 2 position despite taking the first set. The other spots in the Concordia singles lineup were filled by Morales at No. 1, Blough at No. 3, Brooke Hosick at No. 4 and Julia Phillips at No. 6.
Hakes is one of the veterans trying to help bring along a young squad. Said Hakes, “It’s been a very interesting season. It’s a completely new team. I think we need to keep working in the weight room and keep supporting each other. I think we’ve been a little bit better about that this year compared to past years. We want to make sure everyone feels supported on and off the court.”
Bethel bumped its record to 3-4 on the season. The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member also owns wins over John Brown University (Ark.) and Missouri Baptist University. The Threshers were headed to take on Doane immediately after playing the Bulldogs.
Concordia will be on the road on Saturday for a 1 p.m. CT match at Missouri Valley College (1-8), located in Marshall, Mo. In their last time out, the Vikings dropped a 4-2 decision versus Milligan University (Tenn.) on March 11.