Jang headlines Concordia’s top performers at the ITA Regional Championships

Bulldog tennis courts at Concordia University

Photo: Leo Lopez

By Keith Siek

Concordia University’s tennis program left the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Men’s and Women’s Central West Regional Championships with a women’s singles champion after a three-day meet in Salina, Kansas.

The Bulldogs sent players from both teams to compete Friday through Sunday against DII, DIII, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, and junior college-level opponents in Concordia’s last scheduled tournament this fall.

Freshman Seohyeon Jang won the women’s singles tournament as the No. 1 seed, only losing a single set over her championship run. Jang surrendered zero points to her first opponent on Friday, then she put together a dominant  6-1, 6-0 win in her second singles match on the day. 

Jang continued her weekend of play with a 6-2, 6-1 victory Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals. She took down Texas Wesleyan’s Adiya Abdugappar 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals and defeated Rocio Espinal 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinal match. 

Jang dropped her first set of the tournament, 6-4, in the opening frame of the championship match against the No. 3 seed Maria Purizaca from Doane University, but she bounced back with  7-5 and 6-2 wins to claim the pennant. 

Jang also teamed up with senior Chakira Derman as one of three women’s teams in the doubles tournament, and the No. 1-seeded pair racked up three wins on their way to the semifinal match on Sunday. 

Derman and Jang conceded the match during the first set against Texas Wesleyan’s Zeynep Sila Edge and Paulina Hudson due to an existing injury Jang suffered during her singles tournament semifinal and final.  

Sophomore Davi Costa made the deepest tournament run on the men’s side, advancing to the quarterfinal round after two wins on Friday. Costa opened his tournament run with a first-round 6-3, 7-5 win over Oklahoma Wesleyan’s Raphael Alvado. 

Costa upset Jorge Gabriel Batista in three sets hours later, winning the first set 7-6, then dropping a set 6-2, only to take the final set 11-9. Costa lost in the round of 16 to Morningside’s Lucah Dahlman, 6-4, 6-3, to bring his tournament run to an end.

Senior Daniel Cabellaros and junior Ben Chisholm earned a quarterfinal appearance in the men’s doubles bracket after taking down Texas Wesleyan’s Alejo Zurmendi and Bede Maccashin 8-6 in the second round. Chisholm and Cabellaros fell 8-5 to Bethel Kansas’s Billy Haoda and Batista on Saturday. 

Sophomore Leo Lopez and junior Juan Luzuriaga advanced to the second round of men’s doubles action after their opening match was forfeited due to injury. Lopez and Luzuriaga dropped an 8-5 decision to the No. 3-seeded Morningside team of Mathy Arnold and Marcos Menendez.

Cabellaros recorded a first-round win in singles play with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Rayane Sanhaji from Tabor College, but lost to Texas Wesleyan’s Alejo Zurmendi 6-1, 7-5. 

Concordia’s fall season comes to a close when they play host to Midland University on Oct. 1. The Bulldogs’ junior varsity will travel for a meet against Hastings College on Sept. 30 to close out their fall season.