History Does Not Repeat Itself
Concordia took a 2-1 lead after doubles play and then won three singles bouts to beat St. Mary's 5-4.
WINONA, Minn. (3/19/17)--- Concordia made sure history wouldn't repeat itself as the Cobbers won three singles matches after taking a 2-1 lead in doubles play and beat St. Mary's 5-4.
On Friday the Cobbers went 2-1 in doubles to No.19-ranked Gustavus but couldn't close the deal in three super set singles bouts and lost 7-2. On Sunday Concordia bolted to a 2-1 lead after doubles and then kept the momentum going with singles victories at the Top 2 singles spots and watched as senior Matthew Engum clinched the team win with a victory in the super set at No.5 singles.
The win against the Cardinals pushes the Cobbers overall record to 2-6 with both victories coming against MIAC opponents. CC is now 2-3 in conference play and moves into sole possession of fourth place in the league standings.
St. Mary's loses for only the second time in the last six matches and is now 6-5 overall and 1-4 in the MIAC.
Concordia's Top 2 singles players accounted for three of the five wins against St. Mary's. Junior Isaac Toivonen and freshman David Youngs both claimed victories in their singles bouts and then teamed up to win 8-2 at No.1 doubles.
Engum and senior Jesse Schneeberger then gave the Cobbers the 2-1 edge heading to singles by outlasting their opponents 8-6 at No.3 doubles.
"I am ecstatic with the play of our doubles teams in the last two matches," stated head coach Joseph Murrey. "We have really worked on doubles play in practice and it has helped get us the early-match momentum to provide a spark to our singles play."
Toivonen, Youngs and Engum stoked fanned the spark into a match-winning flame as they all won their singles bouts. Toivonen and Youngs won in straight sets while Engum needed the super set to finally decided the team score.
Toivonen won 6-3, 6-3 at No.1 singles and then Youngs followed suit with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No.2 singles. Engum then gave Concordia the win bay rallying to beat his foe at the No.5 spot. Engum lost the first set 6-2 but then rallied to win the second set 6-3. Playing with a deep blister on his foot, Engum fought off the pain and battled his way to a 10-6 victory in the super set.
The Cobbers almost broke the final margin even larger but dropped a pair of super set decisions at No.3 and No.4 singles. David Schneck battled all the way to extra points at No.3 singles before falling 11-9 in the super set while Erik Porter claimed a 6-4 win in the first set at No.4 singles but then lost 6-2 and 10-6 in the super set.
DEALING IT IN DOUBLES: With the two doubles wins on Sunday the Cobbers now have claimed 10 doubles victories on the year. That total is the most since the 2013 season when the members of CC combined to with 14 doubles bouts.
WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will look to extend its one-match win streak when they play a pair of road matches next weekend. The Cobbers will play at MIAC foe Macalester on Saturday, Mar. 25 at 3:30 p.m. in Lakeville and then square off against non-conference opponent Bethany Lutheran on Sunday, Mar. 26 at 3:30 p.m. in St. Peter.
Concordia-Moorhead 5, Saint Mary's University 4
Mar 19, 2017 at Winona, Minn. (Winona Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Isaac Toivonen (CC) def. Brenden Amiotte (SMU) 6-3, 6-3
2. David Youngs (CC) def. Brett Giesen (SMU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Bobby Tiedeman (SMU) def. David Schneck (CC) 6-2, 4-6, 11-9
4. Alex Holm (SMU) def. Erik Porter (CC) 4-6, 6-2, 10-6
5. Matthew Engum (CC) def. Alex Zuzek (SMU) 2-6, 6-3, 10-6
6. Robbie Sobczak (SMU) def. Jesse Schneeberger (CC) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Isaac Toivonen/David Youngs (CC) def. Alex Holm/Andrew Johnson (SMU) 8-2
2. Brenden Amiotte/Bobby Tiedeman (SMU) def. David Schneck/Erik Porter (CC) 8-5
3. Matthew Engum/Jesse Schneeberger (CC) def. Alex Zuzek/Robbie Sobczak (SMU) 8-6