Stopped In Sartell

SARTELL, Minn. (2/22/20)—Concordia was in position to be successful against conference rival St. John's but couldn't follow through in singles play and dropped a 6-3 decision to the Johnnies.       

The Cobber No.1 doubles team of Erik Porter and Jared Saue started the night off with a bang. After getting down 4-1 in the first set, the duo picked up their play and defeated the Johnnies' team of Thomas Gillach and Nate Jordre 8-4. It was the team-leading fourth win of the year for Porter and Saue.

David Youngs and Carter Steffes had their chances in their match at No.2 doubles but were unable to string together multiple game wins and dropped an 8-5 contest to Jess Hansen and Will McDowell.

Trailing 2-1 after the doubles play, Concordia needed to win four of the singles bouts to earn the team win. The Cobbers saw sparks of success in singles play but it didn't turn into a fire and were only able to come away with two singles victories. Freshman Cole Gillespie earned a hard-fought 7-5, 6-3 win at No. singles for the Cobbers.  The win marked Gillespie's first collegiate conference victory.

Youngs flipped the switch in his No.3 singles match by winning multiple games in a row and winning  6-1, 6-4. The win was Youngs' fifth of the year which leads Concordia. He now has 16 career singles wins in his 2-plus seasons at Concordia.

Saue fought hard in his match at No.2 singles against Thomas Gillach. Saue nipped Gillach in the first 7-5 before losing a close second set in a tie-breaker (7-5). He came up just short in the super tie-breaker, losing 10-7.

UP NEXT: Concordia (2-5, 0-2 MIAC) will have to wait a week before getting their chance to rebound. The Cobbers will take on Bethel on Saturday, Feb 29 at 6 p.m. at Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis. The Royals are 3-2 on the year in all matches and 1-1 in MIAC competition.

Saint John's University 6, Concordia-Moorhead 3
02/22/2020 at Sartell, Minn. (Sta-Fit)

Singles competition
1. Nate Jordre (SJU) def. Erik Porter (CC) 6-3, 6-1
2. Thomas Gillach (SJU) def. Jared Saue (CC) 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 10-6
3. David Youngs (CC) def. Wil McDowell (SJU) 6-1, 6-4
4. Jess Hansen (SJU) def. Carter Steffes (CC) 6-3, 6-1
5. Cole Gillespie (CC) def. Jarod Swoboda (SJU) 7-5, 6-3
6. Cole Dutko (SJU) def. Jake Peters (CC) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Erik Porter/Jared Saue (CC) def. Thomas Gillach/Nate Jordre (SJU) 8-4
2. Jess Hansen/Wil McDowell (SJU) def. Carter Steffes/David Youngs (CC) 8-4
3. Cole Dutko/Jarod Swoboda (SJU) def. Cole Gillespie/Eli Simonson (CC) 8-4