SEWARD, Neb. – Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Tennis faced off against NCAA Division 2’s Fort Hays State University (Kan.) and dropped the match (2-5) on Friday (April 18). Mariana Molano led the Bulldogs with a victory at No. 1 singles and Ishane Derman continued to crush her competition inside the Walz Fieldhouse.
Head Coach Lisa Hart and company are 14-4 overall going into the conference tournament.
“We came out and competed really hard,” Coach Lisa Hart said. "We played really great tennis and tried to start with our footwork first, and it showed. I’m proud of the effort we gave, and we look forward to the GPAC tournament next weekend.”
No.1s Chakira Derman and Alana Lopez Pagan took out Shreethika Vangala and Janae Montoya with a 6-2 victory, but the Dawgs would drop the other two doubles matches. The duo collects their ninth triumph of the year and has a 9-4 record as a pair.
With the Tigers taking three singles matches early, Concordia finished with two wins in singles play. No. 1 Molano defeated Vangala in straight sets (6-4, 6-0), totaling her record to 14-4 this season. The Bogotá, Colombia, native surpassed her previous season high and has totaled 38 career wins.
No. 4 Ishane Derman openly welcomed a battle with Yone Pereiro after the first two sets ended with a split (7-6 (1), 4-6). The freshman phenom found herself down 7-6 in the 10-point tiebreak and rattled off four unanswered to take the match win (10-7). The Lomé, Africa, native has a head-turning 16-1 record in her first year as a Bulldog. With one added victory, she will tie the single-season singles win record (17) set by Marlene Maier in the 2018-19 season.
No. 2 Chakira, No. 3 Lopez Pagan, No. 5 Alexa Richert and No. 6 Nina Milic all competed in singles as well.
No. 3 Concordia (14-4) is set to face No. 6 College of Saint Mary (3-7) in the quarterfinals of the GPAC tournament. The postseason playoffs are set for April 25-26 in Sioux City, Iowa.