Primed For The Postseason

MOORHEAD, Minn. (4/28/18)---Concordia is officially ready for their first postseason appearance since 2011. The Cobbers capped the regular season in fine fashion by blanking Martin Luther 9-0.

The win is the 11th of the year for Concordia who will enter the conference tournament with an 11-10 overall record. The 11 wins is the most for a Concordia squad since they won 12 back in 2005.

The final regular-season match offered head coach Joseph Murrey a chance to get some of his underclassmen into a varsity match. Sophomore Carter Steffes got the call to play No.5 singles and No.2 doubles. He responded with a 6-2, 7-6 (10) straight set victory in singles play and then teamed with freshman Ben Swanson to win 8-1 in doubles,

Senior Scott Schwandt also got the chance to play in the final home match of his collegiate career. He won 6-3, 6-3 at No.6 singles and then paired with fellow senior David Schneck and won 8-4 at No.3 doubles.

The top of the Cobber lineup featured regulars and allowed CC to take a 3-0 lead after doubles play and then post six straight set singles wins.

Senior Isaac Toivonen cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 win at No.1 singles. Toivonen and doubles partner Matthew Engum formed a second all-senior tandem and rolled to an 8-0 victory at No.1 doubles.

Erik Porter and Jared Saue both recorded 6-0, 6-1 wins at No.2 and No.3 singles while David Youngs came away with a 6-3, 6-0 victory at No.4 singles.

UMAC HERE WE COME:  The victory finished off the Cobbers' non-conference schedule for the season. Concordia played 12 non-conference matches in 2018 and four came against UMAC opponents. CC was 4-0 in those matches against UMAC competition and posted a combined individual match score of 34-2.

I LIKE IKE: Isaac Toivonen earned his team-leading 12th singles win of the year. His 12 victories is one shy of his career best for a season which he set last year. Toivonen has 25 singles wins in the past two years and now has 36 for his four-year career which was played all at No.1 singles.

THE HUMAN REBOUND WALL or WHO SAW THIS COMING?: Sophomore Jared Saue posted the biggest improvement in singles play from last year. Saue is second on the team in singles wins this year with 11. That is an 8-win improvement over his 3-4 record last year.

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will now enter the second season when they play at No.4 seed Macalester on Wednesday, May 2 at 3:30 p.m. The match will be played at the Hayden Tennis Courts which is on the campus of Macalester.      

Concordia-M'head 9, Martin Luther 0
Apr 28, 2018 at Moorhead, Minn. (Jake Christiansen Athletic Complex)

Singles competition
1. Isaac Toivonen (CC) def. Justin Steinke (MLC) 6-1, 6-0
2. Erik Porter (CC) def. Josh Koelpin (MLC) 6-0, 6-1
3. Jared Saue (CC) def. Ethan Schultz (MLC) 6-0, 6-1
4. David Youngs (CC) def. Joel Koelpin (MLC) 6-3, 6-0
5. Carter Steffes (CC) def. Nicolas Gartner (MLC) 6-2, 7-6 (12-10)
6. Scott Schwandt (CC) def. Josh Schroeder (MLC) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Isaac Toivonen/Matthew Engum (CC) def. Justin Steinke/Ethan Schultz (MLC) 8-0
2. Ben Swanson/Carter Steffes (CC) def. Josh Koelpin/Joel Koelpin (MLC) 8-1
3. David Schneck/Scott Schwandt (CC) def. Nicolas Gartner/Josh Schroeder (MLC) 8-4