By Toby Semler
SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia University Women’s Tennis team matched up against Morningside University on Saturday (March 27) in a GPAC conference dual. The Bulldogs notched singles wins from Sofia Morales, Claudia Miranda Viera, Luisa Esquivel and Ansley Gates to power past the Mustangs in a 4-3 home victory.
The Bulldogs had been riding a four-match losing streak entering play. Head Coach David DeSimone’s squad moved to 4-4 overall.
“We played well in singles. Taking four of the six matches is not easy against a good team like Morningside,” DeSimone said. “There were many competitive matches that could have gone either way. We were fortunate to play pretty well in some decisive moments. Claudia Miranda Viera had an excellent singles match today, and Sofia Morales clinched the win for the women.”
In doubles the Bulldog duo of Morales and Esquivel came away with the lone victory of the three matchups beating their opponents, 6-2.
The most competitive match of the day would belong to Morales in the first singles match of the day. She defeated her opponent by scores of 6-4, 4-6, and 7-6 in the tie breaker. While the Mustangs controlled the doubles point, Concordia bounced back strong in singles. Following Morales in the lineup was Miranda Viera who came away with a win of her own in straight sets over her Mustang opponent. The Bulldogs dropped the next two matchups before rebounding strong with wins by Esquivel and Gates.
The 4-3 Mustangs came into the day sitting at third in the GPAC rankings; after a Concordia win today, the Mustangs drop to 4-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
This upcoming Tuesday the Bulldogs will host another GPAC opponent in the Hastings Broncos. The Broncos will enter Tuesday with a 1-5 overall record and a 1-0 record in the GPAC. The match is set to start at 4 p.m. at the Bulldog Tennis Courts.