GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota men's tennis team stood just a single match win away from clinching a spot in The Summit League Tennis Championships, but Oral Roberts rallied to defeat the Fighting Hawks, 4-3, on Saturday afternoon at Choice Health and Fitness in Grand Forks. 

UND (11-9, 2-2) saw four singles matches go the distance, but came up short in two of them to allow the Golden Eagles to mount a comeback and spoil the clinching opportunity for the hosts. 

In doubles play, the Fighting Hawks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a pair of wins on the top two court. Nejc Sitar and Lukas continued to roll in the two-man action, picking up a 6-4 win on the top court before Johnnie Carmichael-Plester and Davide Callegari sealed the 1-0 advantage for the green and white with a 7-5 victory from the second position. 

Oral Roberts took a 2-1 lead in the match with a pair of wins in straight sets to push the momentum towards the visitors; however, Carmichael responded following a loss in set one with back-to-back triumphs in the second and third frames to even the score at two. Jake Kuhlman followed his teammate's lead by bouncing back from a defeat in the first set with a 6-4, 6-3 win in the final pair of sets to put the Hawks within a point of clinching the match. ORU spoiled the party with a pair of three set victories to steal the 4-3 win. 

North Dakota is back in action tomorrow morning with another opportunity to advance to the postseason tournament against Denver at 9 a.m. from Choice Health and Fitness.