Step Up In Competition At I-29 Battle

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (2/08/20)--- It was a busy day of tennis for the Cobbers as they traveled north to take on non-conference opponents Augustana (S.D.) and North Dakota in the annual I-29 battle at Choice Health and Fitness in Grand Forks.

Augustana 5 Concordia 2
The first dual of the day came against DII Augustana (S.D. Three North Dakota natives earned wins for the Cobbers in their home state in a 5-2 loss to the Vikings.

The all-Fargo No. doubles team of David Youngs and Carter Steffes tallied a 6-4 win over their childhood friend North Knewtson and his partner Eden Mrozek of Augustana. The Vikings took the other two doubles matches which earned Augustana the doubles point in the DII scoring system.

In singles, Mandan native Erik Porter won a 3-set battle against Cade Damgaard at the No.2 spot. After winning the first set 6-3, Porter dropped the second set by a similar 6-3 margin as Damgaard picked up his play. In the deciding super-set tie-breaker Porter stayed offensive and kept Damgaard at the baseline, winning it 10-8.

On the court next to Porter, Youngs picked up a 6-2, 7-6 (1) win over Jakson Stoutamire at No.3 singles. After getting down 5-3 in second set, Youngs fought back to even the score at 6-6. He was able to close out the set after winning the first six points of the tiebreaker.

Freshman Cole Gillespie played a competitive match at No.5 singles, losing 6-4, 6-2 to Augustana's Tory Shafer.

North Dakota 7 Concordia 0
After a competitive dual against Augustana the Cobber Men were unable to hang with DI foe North Dakota in the nightcap of the I-29 Battle.

The Fighting Hawks shutout the Cobbers 7-0. UND has now won five straight matches after having blanked Augustana by a similar 7-0 score earlier in the day.  

Senior Jared Saue played the tightest singles match of the dual. He lost to UND's top player Andreja Petroivuc 6-2 6-2 at No.1 singles.

Head Coach Zach Zitur commented that playing high caliber teams like Augustana and UND are important to setting the standard before the Cobbers enter the thick of their conference schedule.

"It makes you pay attention to detail, because it's the little things that are the difference," Zitur said.

The two losses drop the Cobbers overall record to 1-3 (0-1 MIAC) on the year.

UP NEXT: Concordia looks to rebound next weekend as they head to the Duluth area to take on two UMAC opponents. The Cobbers play defending UMAC champion St. Scholastica on Saturday Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. and then head across the harbor the next morning to take on Wis.-Superior at 10 a.m. St. Scholastica is 0-2 on the year and Superior begins their season on Feb. 9 against St. Mary's.

Saturday recaps sponsored by Bufffalo Wild Wings: Grab your friends and get to B-Dubs on Sunday nights for College Nights at 9 p.m. 50% off 1 food item with ID and $3 apps at the Buffalo Wild Wings located on Hwy 10 in Moorhead.