Dominant Doubles Play Not Enough
Concordia swept the three doubles bouts against St. Scholastica but then the Saints came back to win five singles matches and hand the Cobbers a 5-4 loss.
VIRGINIA, Minn (2/15/20)---A dominant evening of doubles wasn't enough for the Cobbers to take down non-conference foe St. Scholastica.
Concordia swept the doubles play to start the match but then the Saints responded by cranking out five singles wins to capture a 5-4 contest on Saturday night in the Iron Range.
The No.1 doubles team of Erik Porter and Jared Saue dominated the Saints team of Serhil Tykhonenko and Elliot Schneider 8-1. Porter and Saue were flawless at the net as they out-finessed their opponents to record their second win on the year.
The No.2 team of David Youngs and Carter Steffes battled in a drama-filled match. After a line call controversy in the first game of the match the duo rose to the occasion and rolled to an 8-2 win. The 1-2 punch of Steffes' serve and Youngs' volleys kept the team on offense all match. The duo is now 3-2 for the season.
The hardest fought doubles match of the night was also the most rewarding for the Cobbers. The freshman duo of Eli Simonson and Cole Gillespie grinded out an 8-7 (4) win over some heavy hitting opponents from St. Scholastica. After jumping to an early lead, the first-year tandem was outplayed for a few games. Simonson and Gillespie showed great maturity late in the match by trusting their shots and hitting out on the ball. With the tiebreaker deadlocked at 7-7 the duo recorded the win with big serves and clutch volleys.
Unfortunately for the Cobbers, the Saints picked up their play in singles action, winning five of six matches.
Youngs picked up the lone singles win for the Cobbers. He defeated Anton Sopin 6-1, 6-4 at No.3 singles. Youngs is now 3-2 on the year.
The Cobbers fought close in other matches. Steffes played a tight first set at No.4 singles bringing his opponent to a tiebreaker. Junior Jake Peters challenged his opponent with steady groundstrokes in a 6-3, 6-3 loss at No.6 singles while Porter also played a close match at #1 singles, losing to Elliot Schneider in a tight 6-3, 6-4 battle.
UP NEXT: The Cobbers (1-4, 0-1 MIAC) will try to channel their inner John McEnroe on the tartan surface of opponent Wis.-Superior tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. as the fast-playing surface is a serve and volleyer's dream. The Yellowjackets are 0-2 on the year.
St. Scholastica 5, Concordia (MN) 4
2/15/2020 at Virginia, MN (Virginia Indoor Tennis Club)
Singles competition
1. Elliot Schneider (CSS) def. Erik Porter (CC) 6-3, 6-4
2. Serhii Tykhonenko (CSS) def. Jared Saue (CC) 6-1, 6-2
3. David Youngs (CC) def. Anton Sopin (CSS) 6-2, 6-4
4. Jack Kearney (CSS) def. Carter Steffes (CC) 7-6 (8-6), 6-3
5. Jake Jolowsky (CSS) def. Cole Gillespie (CC) 6-3, 6-3
6. Carter Anderson (CSS) def. Jake Peters (CC) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Erik Porter/Jared Saue (CC) def. Serhii Tykhonenko/Elliot Schneider (CSS) 8-1
2. David Youngs/Carter Steffes (CC) def. Anton Sopin/Jake Jolowsky (CSS) 8-2
3. Cole Gillespie/Eli Simonson (CC) def. Jack Kearney/Duke Nguyen (CSS) 8-7 (7-3)