Experience Pays Off In Opener

OWATONNA, Minn. (2/04/23)---The 2023 portion of the Cobber schedule couldn't have started any better for head coach Zach Zitur.

Zitur watched Concordia win all three doubles matches against Northwestern in the opener. CC followed that up by claiming five of the six singles bouts and rolled to an 8-1 win.

The 8-1 win is in sharp contrast to last season when the Cobbers dropped a 5-4 decision against the Eagles.

Concordia returns all six of their top players from last season when they won three of its last six matches – and that experience showed in the 2023 opener.

The No.1 doubles team of Raquel Egge and Mary Skorich, who went 5-7 last year as the team's No.1 duo, used their experience to coast to an 8-1 win.

Anna Hacker and Lizzie Allan, who were playing their first doubles match together, battled at No.2 doubles and earned a hard-fought 8-6 win.

Zitur partnered senior Emily Savageau and sophomore Erin Borchard together at No.3 doubles and the tactic paid off with an 8-1 victory.

The Cobbers then cruised to take five singles wins, and all came in straight-set fashion.

Skorich led the Cobbers in singles wins last year, and she started 2023 in similar style. She claimed a 6-0, 6-2 win at No.2 singles.

Savageau claimed the largest margin of victory when she won 6-0, 6-1 at No.4 singles.

Egge, who is starting her fourth season as the team's No.1 singles player, had little trouble in the opener. She won 6-2, 6-1 to record her 20th career singles win.

Hacker and Allan claimed the other two singles wins to push the final score to 8-1. Hacker won 6-2, 6-3 at No.3 singles and Allan was a 6-0, 6-3 victor at No.5 singles.    
 
UP NEXT: The Cobbers will have an away-home, conference-non-conference series next weekend. CC will play at Hamline on Saturday, Feb. 11, and then host Crown in the home opener on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 12:30 p.m.  

Concordia-Moorhead 8, Northwestern 1
Singles competition
1. Raquel Egge (CC) def. Domiano Baideme (UNW) 6-2, 6-1
2. Mary Skorich (CC) def. Annie Orvis (UNW) 6-0, 6-2
3. Anna Hacker (CC) def. Elise Jarchow (UNW) 6-2, 6-3
4. Emily Savageau (CC) def. Analise Marquardt (UNW) 6-0, 6-1
5. Lizzie Allan (CC) def. Abby Johnson (UNW) 6-0, 6-3
6. Taylar Smith (UNW) def. Erin Borchard (CC) 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (11-9)

Doubles competition
1. Raquel Egge/Mary Skorich (CC) def. Domiano Baideme/Annie Orvis (UNW) 8-1
2. Anna Hacker/Lizzie Allan (CC) def. Analise Marquardt/Abby Johnson (UNW) 8-6
3. Emily Savageau/Erin Borchard (CC) def. Taylar Smith/Elli Dodge (UNW) 8-1