Super Sets Stifle Upset Bid
FARGO, N.D. (3/17/17)--- The super-set tie-breaker was unkind to Concordia in their upset bid against No.19-ranked Gustavus. The Cobbers won two of the three doubles bouts but then lost three singles matches in the decisive super sets and fell 7-2 to the Gusties.
The two match wins against Gustavus marks the first time since the 2003 season that Concordia has earned two points in a match against the perennial national power Gusties.
Concordia gritted their way to wins at the No.1 and No.2 doubles spots. Isaac Toivonen and David Youngs started the Cobbers' doubles success by capturing an 8-5 win at the top doubles bout. The most dramatic doubles match came at No.2 where David Schneck and Erik Porter lost a pair of match points and also saved a match point before claiming a 9-8 (11-9) win. The match was tight in the final games and went back-and-forth throughout the tie-breaker before Schneck served and Porter hit a cross-court volley to get the win.
The scorebook will show that Concordia lost all seven singles bouts to fall in the team match 7-2 but the team score hung in the balance until the three-hour mark. The Cobbers dropped three singles bouts in straight sets to fall behind 4-2 but the other three would be the deciding factor in the conference match.
Concordia took the first set in two of the three matches settled in the super set. Toivonen won 6-2 at No.1 singles and senior Jesse Schneeberger claimed a 6-1 victory at No.5 singles. The third match that hung in the balance went against the Cobbers as freshman Jared Saue lost his first set at No.6 singles 6-2.
All three of the remaining singles matches then went to a tie-breaker in the second set. Toivonen lost 7-4 and Schneeberger fell 7-2 but Saue was able to battle back and win 7-4 to even his match at 1-1.
The match then went south for the Cobbers as they lost all three bouts in the super set. Concordia had a chance to earn a 5-4 win but instead lost 7-2. Toivonen went out to an early 4-1 lead but then lost 10-5. Schneeberger could never get a late lead and lost 10-7 while Saue ran out of steam and fell 10-4.
DOUBLES DELIGHT: The two doubles wins marks the first time in program history that Concordia has taken more than one doubles bout against Gustavus. It was also only the second time this season that the Cobbers had ended doubles play with a lead. The other doubles win came against St. John's in CC's 6-3 win.
Concordia now has eight doubles wins on the year which ties their season total from last year. The No.1 tandem of Isaac Toivonen and David Youngs and the No.2 duo of David Schneck and Erik Porter both have a team-best three wins.
WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will finish off its home-and-away conference weekend when they travel to Winona to take on St. Mary's on Sunday, Mar. 19 at 9:30 a.m.
#19 Gustavus Adolphus College 7, Concordia-Moorhead 2
Mar 17, 2017 at Fargo, N.D. (Courts Plus)
Singles competition
1. Gabe Steinwand (GAC) def. Isaac Toivonen (CC) 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 10-5
2. Michael O'Neil (GAC) def. David Youngs (CC) 6-0, 6-4
3. Mason Bultje (GAC) def. David Schneck (CC) 6-4, 6-2
4. Joakim Ekfeldt (GAC) def. Erik Porter (CC) 6-3, 6-4
5. Alex Senjem (GAC) def. Jesse Schneeberger (CC) 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 10-7
6. Can-Aras Thierhoff (GAC) def. Jared Saue (CC) 6-2, 6-7 (7-4), 10-4
Doubles competition
1. Isaac Toivonen/David Youngs (CC) def. Gabe Steinwand/Mason Bultje (GAC) 8-5
2. David Schneck/Erik Porter (CC) def. Michael O'Neil/Alex Senjem (GAC) 9-8 (11-9)
3. Joakim Ekfeldt/Zeke Haugen (GAC) def. Jesse Schneeberger/Jared Saue (CC) 8-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,2,4,1,6,5)