HOMEWOOD, Ill. -- The University of North Dakota men's tennis team rallied for a 6-1 victory over Eastern Illinois on Friday evening to begin a three-match weekend in Homewood, Ill.
UND (1-2) dropped the doubles point, but posted six wins in singles action to clinch its first victory of the season and hand the Panthers (7-2) only their second defeat.
Eastern Illinois jumped on the board first with triumphs on the first and third courts to take a 1-0 lead in the match. UND nearly took the lead themselves, with
Edmond Aynedjian and
Jake Kuhlman rolling to a 6-2 win on the No. 2 court.
Singles play was a different story, however, with the Fighting Hawks quickly knotting the score at 1-1 with a 6-1, 6-2 thumping by Kuhlman at the fourth position. UND took control of the match with back-to-back sweeps on the No. 5 and No. 2 courts from
Johnatan Parat (6-2, 6-3) and
Lukas Buth (7-6, 6-2) to put the visitors just one point away from clinching the match.
Aynedjian put the finishing touches on the victory for UND in thrilling fashion with a three-set win on the No. 3 court. The sophomore claimed the opening frame, 6-3, before dropping a 6-4 decision to send the contest to a tiebreaker. There, Aynedjian clinched the win with a 6-4 triumph of his own to give UND a 4-1 lead and the match.
Andreja Petrovic and
Lucas Percy added on with a pair of three-set victories themselves to sweep singles play for the Hawks.
North Dakota is right back in action tomorrow at noon against Chicago State.
