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SEWARD, Neb. – In an abbreviated match, Concordia University Women’s Tennis celebrated its lone senior and earned a victory over visiting Mount Marty on Thursday (April 13). In her final career home appearance, Tara Ferrel starred on the doubles court in what officially went down as a team victory via forfeit. The Bulldogs won each of the three singles contests and the one doubles match that were played against the short-handed Lancers.
Head Coach Cam Long’s squad has won back-to-back days inside the Walz Fieldhouse, where it went to escape strong wind gusts. The Bulldogs have bumped their overall record to 10-7 (2-2 GPAC).
Said Long of the seniors (three total between the men’s and women’s programs), “They’ve never been on a bad team. They’ve always finished top half of the conference. The last two conference matches are coming up and they have a chance to do that again. The seniors have meant a lot, especially with how many freshmen and sophomores we have. They’ve been great fits for Concordia and have done a lot for the program.”
A Lincoln North Star High School alum, Ferrel notched the 22nd doubles win of her collegiate career while pairing with freshman Ella Dean. They won by a score of 6-1 in the only doubles match of the day. Then in singles, the Bulldogs won decisively. Tessa Blough took a 6-3, 6-2, decision at No. 1, Kylie Freudenburg won at No. 2, 6-3, 6-1, and Lauren Gottberg cruised to a 6-0, 6-2, victory at No. 3.
Concordia also defeated Grand View University (Iowa) by a 5-2 score on Wednesday. The Bulldogs are honing in on putting the pieces together for the stretch run of the conference season.
Said the Norfolk, Neb., native Freudenburg, “All the drills we’ve been doing at practice and playing matches have forced us to get more consistent. We continue to grow our skills.”
A freshman out of Lincoln East High School, Gottberg added, “We’re getting close to the conference tournament, so I think this win was really big for us. We’re building a lot of confidence going forward.”
The Bulldogs will close out the week by playing at conference leading Midland (11-2, 2-0 GPAC) on Saturday. First serve from Fremont, Neb., is set for 12 p.m. CT. Last year’s meeting in Seward went to the Warriors by a 7-0 score.