New-Look Cobbers Provide Signs Of Optimism in Opener

OWATONNA, Minn. (2/04/23)---Concordia head coach Nate Young showed off his new-look Cobbers in the team's season-opening doubleheader in Owatonna.

Junior Kipton Jenson is the only returning player on a roster that features seven newcomers and five freshmen.

The Cobbers weren't able to come away with a win in the opening weekend, but the final scores provided optimism for a team that won only one match last year.

Concordia started Saturday by dropping a 7-2 decision to Northwestern, and then almost came away with their first win of the season as they fell 5-4 to the University of Dubuque.

First-year players Logan Sandberg and Kai Pierce gave the Cobbers four singles wins on the day at the No.1 and No.2 singles spots. The tandem also grabbed a doubles win in the match with Dubuque.

Concordia's lone wins against Northwestern belonged to Sandberg and Pierce. Sandberg rolled to a 6-4, 6-2 straight-set victory at No.1 singles. Pierce needed to go to a tiebreaker in the second set to record his first collegiate singles victory. Pierce won the first set 6-3, and then won 7-6 (2) to secure the match.

The two also teamed up to nearly scrape out a win at No.1 singles. They lost 8-5 in the longest doubles match of the morning.

The Cobbers got rid of the first-match jitters against Dubuque and fell in a heartbreaker. CC won two of the three doubles matches, and then lost two singles bouts in the super-set tiebreaker. If either of those two matches go in CC's favor, the team would have come away with a split on the day.

Sandberg and Pierce won their first collegiate doubles match with an 8-4 win at No. 1 doubles. The other victory in doubles play came from Jenson and senior Matthew Nemer – who is playing in his first season of college tennis after starring for the Cobber men's soccer team for four years. The duo won 8-4 at No.3 doubles to spot Concordia a 2-1 lead heading into singles play.

Sandberg and Pierce would double up their singles win total with wins against the Spartans. Sandberg needed to go to the super-set tiebreaker to earn the 6-3, 1-6, 10-3 victory. Pierce made quick work of his match at No.2 singles with a 6-1, 6-1 win.

Jenson and Atticus Baker were the two CC players who lost the super-set decisions. Jenson won the first set 6-2 at No.3 singles, then lost 6-3 in the second before falling 10-3 in the tiebreaker.

Baker dropped the opener at No.4 singles (6-1), but then rallied to post a 6-4 win in the second set. He ultimately lost 10-8 in a back-and-forth tiebreaker.

UP NEXT: Concordia will open conference play when they face Hamline on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1:00 in St. Paul. The Cobbers will then host Crown in the home opener on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 12:30 p.m. at Courts Plus in Fargo.   

Northwestern 7, Concordia-Moorhead 2
Singles competition
1. Logan Sandberg (CC) def. Stewart Morrell (UNW) 6-4, 6-2
2. Kai Pierce (CC) def. Jacob Weddle (UNW) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
3. Davis Pfaff (UNW) def. Kipton Jenson (CC) 6-0, 6-1
4. Darin Rupp (UNW) def. Atticus Baker (CC) 6-3, 6-0
5. Griffen Jarchow (UNW) def. Matthew Nemer (CC) 6-0, 6-1
6. Andy Stevenson (UNW) def. Brady Canon (CC) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Jacob Weddle/Davis Pfaff (UNW) def. Logan Sandberg/Kai Pierce (CC) 8-5
2. Stewart Morrell/Darin Rupp (UNW) def. Atticus Baker/Brady Canon (CC) 8-0
3. Griffen Jarchow/Andy Stevenson (UNW) def. Kipton Jenson/Matthew Nemer (CC) 8-0