DES MOINES, Iowa -- The University of North Dakota women's tennis team opened the Tom Boysen era in strong fashion, closing out a weekend at the Drake Invite to begin the non-championship portion of the 2021-22 season. 

"It was extremely valuable to get to see the team compete against a variety of very good opponents this weekend in Des Moines," said Boysen. "These fall events are so useful in terms of learning curves and forming developmental plans for our athletes. We came away with many positives and also a lot of things to clean up for the spring season. I came away incredibly impressed with our players' tenacity and ability to play fearlessly in the biggest moments of close matches. Our 6-2 record in deciding third set tiebreakers over the three days bodes well for the inherent pressure that comes with dual matches in the spring. Allie Ochotorena and Nina Zdravkovic played great doubles to win their draw this weekend and seem to be building on their success from last season.  Lastly, we challenged the team to come out hungry today on the third and final day of the the tournament, and I am proud of the positive response we got." 

Overall, UND finished the weekend with an overall record of 20-11 in both singles and doubles action, posting a winning record in each of the three days of competition. The Fighting Hawks were good in the clutch moments, picking up six wins in eight tries when the match went to a tiebreak. The rookies also shined in their first action of collegiate tennis, posting a 6-2 singles record. 

FRIDAY SINGLES
In the top flight, Andrea Jansson started the weekend in style, picking up a three-set win over Madison Gallegos, 7-4, 5-7, 10-7, to advance to the quarterfinals and notch the first victory of many for the green and white. 

Nina Zdravkovic followed her strong finish to the 2020-21 season with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Gabriela Jancikova in the first round of the second flight. Allie Ochotorena kept it rolling in the third flight, notching a 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Rebecca Ehn to make it three wins in four tries to open the day. 

Nore Heinitz opened her collegiate career with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Eesha Varma in the fourth flight to polish off a strong singles day for the Fighting Hawks. 

FRIDAY DOUBLES 
The momentum continued into doubles play on Friday for a pair who picked up wins in singles, with Ochotorena and Zdravkovic rolling to an 8-2 win in the quarterfinals of the second flight before picking up an 8-7 (6) victory in the semifinals to move to Sunday's final. 

SATURDAY SINGLES 
Following a tough loss on Friday, Sapir Sela bounced back in the first flight consolation round with a 6-1, 4-6, 10-8 win in the quarterfinal round before another three-set victory in the semifinal round, 6-4, 1-6, 10-8 to advance to Sunday's title match. 

Zdravkovic, playing the second flight championship side, advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4, 3-6, 13-11 victory over Malvika Shukla, but dropped a tough one in three sets to end her singles play with a semifinal appearance. 

After a loss in the quarterfinal round of the third flight, Ochotorena rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 win over Brooke Covington to move to 2-1 on the weekend and advance to a consolation final. Heinitz kept cruising in the fourth flight, picking up a 6-2, 6-3 victory in the quarterfinal round before a 6-4, 6-1 triumph to advance to the finals on Sunday. 

Fellow freshman Lucia Rizza also bounced back from a loss in the opening round of the fourth flight to rattle off back-to-back victories, including a three-set thriller, to move into the consolation final. 

SUNDAY SINGLES 
Sela kept her mojo going after a pair of wins on Saturday to capture the consolation title of the first flight, notching a 7-6, 4-6, 12-10 victory over Elizaveta Petushkova to finish with a 3-1 record on the weekend against strong competition. Jansson also picked up a win due to an injury retirement in her consolation bracket of the first flight. 

Ochotorena kept the titles coming for the Hawks, this time in the consolation round of the third flight, with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Alexia Di Giulio before Rizza also captured her consolation title in the fourth flight with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph. 

SUNDAY DOUBLES
The duo of Sela and Jansson got on the board in doubles play on the final day with an 8-3 victory to close out the weekend on a high note, but it was the pairing of Ochotorena and Zdravkovic who stole the show. 

After a hard-fought win on Friday in the semifinal, the two posted a convincing 8-4 win in the second flight title match to polish off a 3-0 weekend and another crown for the green and white. 

North Dakota will return to action on Sept. 24-26 for the Gopher Invite, hosted by the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis. 

FULL RESULTS CAN BE FOUND HERE