GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The anticipation was at a high level from Choice Health and Fitness, as the University of North Dakota men's tennis team made its home debut on Saturday. The Fighting Hawks rolled to a 6-1 victory over Gustavus Adolphus to open the day before sweeping Augustana, 7-0, to close out a perfect start to the home slate.
"It was great to play our first home matches of the season today," said UND head coach
Tom Boysen. "Choice is such a wonderful venue, and the atmosphere in there provides such a spark for our players and coaches."
UND 6, Gustavus Adolphus 1
North Dakota jumped out to an early lead in doubles action, with
Gerhard Sullwald and
Nikita Snezhko starting the scoring with a 6-3 victory on the top court before a pair of 7-6 wins guided the Fighting Hawks to the 1-0 advantage.
"Gustavus Adolphus is a good team, and we knew their doubles was a strength," said Boysen. "I thought we started the match a bit erratic with our execution of fundamentals and shot selection, but when we needed a big break, Edmond and Cian really closed their set with some terrific tennis to secure the doubles point for us. Credit to Gerry, Nikita, and Cian for starting strong in singles and stretching their leads give us some quick points on the scoreboard."
Sullwald continued his dominance at the No. 1 position moving into singles play, rolling to back-to-back 6-1 triumphs to quickly extend the lead to 2-0. His doubles partner, Snezhko, followed suit with a 6-3, 6-0 score on the fifth court to push the match to a clinching position.
After the Golden Gusties got on the scoreboard,
Cian McDonnell clinched the match at the No. 3 court by a 6-2, 6-2 score before
Edmond Aynedjian and
Dylan Leeman both pulled out a pair of three-set triumphs to close out the 6-1 match win.
DOUBLES RESULTS
Sullwald/Snezhko 6
Aney/Budde 3
McDonnell/Aynedjian 7
Fouchier/Tennkanamri 6
Elofson/Christensen 7
Odell/Leeman 6
(Order of Finish: 1,2,3)
SINGLES RESULTS
Sullwald 6-1, 6-1 over Raut
Aynedjian 4-6, 6-2, (10-6) over Aney
McDonnell 6-2, 6-2 over Fouchier
Budde 7-5, 6-1 over Odell
Snezhko 6-3, 6-0 over Siviero
Leeman 5-7, 6-4, (10-5) over Christensen
(Order of Finish: 1,5,4,3,2,6)
UND 7, Augustana 0
It was a similar script in the Saturday finale against the Vikings, dropping only one set in the entire match to post a sweep and move to 5-3 on the season.
In doubles play, Sullwald and Snezhko kept their hot play rolling with a 6-1 victory on the top court and was followed by a 6-2 victory from
Petro Alex and Aynedjian and 6-3 win from McDonnell and Leeman sealed the 1-0 start in two-man action.
"In the second match against Augustana, our doubles was much more crisp and efficient," said Boysen. "The guys also really pounced on their singles opponents early and often and set a great tone for the match. We closed second sets out going away at most positions, which was a great way to end the night."
It was a near-perfect run in singles action, with Sullwald (6-1, 6-1) and Aynedjian (6-0, 6-0) each winning to extend the lead to 3-0 before Snezhko clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at the No. 4 court.
McDonnell and Alex followed with victories on the No. 3 and 6 courts, respectively, and Leeman closed out the sweep with a three-set victory.
DOUBLES RESULTS
Sullwald/Snezhko 6
Dornbusch/Damgaard 1
McDonnell/Leeman 6
Karcher/Lapoint 3
P. Alex/Aynedjian 6
Cowger/Shafer 2
(Order of finish: 1,3,2)
SINGLES RESULTS
Sullwald 6-1, 6-1 over Dornbusch
Aynedjian 6-0, 6-0 over Damgaard
McDonnell 6-3, 6-0 over Karcher
Snezhko 6-1, 6-2 over Lapoint
Leeman 6-1, 2-6, (10-7) over Plachy
P. Alex 6-0, 6-2 over Cowger
Order of Finish: 1,2,4,3,6,5)
North Dakota returns to action on Feb. 25 at home against former Big Sky Conference foe Montana State.
"We will spend the next 12 days preparing for a great set of matches at home in two weeks against Montana State and Omaha," said Boysen.
