LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The University of North Dakota women's tennis team had been on the wrong side of a few 4-3 decisions entering Sunday, but the weekend finale was the chance for the Fighting Hawks to flip the script with a 4-3 victory of their own over former Big Sky Conference rival Montana to close out the weekend in Las Vegas.
UND (6-6) had to battle on every court, with three of the singles matches going to a third set, but the green and white notched a big victory to close out the weekend with a 2-1 record and back-to-back victories.
"I'm so happy for our players today," said UND head coach
Tom Boysen. "They have been so close to experiencing the joy and excitement that results from a hard-fought, back-and-forth 4-3 victory this season. It's nice to see them get the chance to celebrate with each other after a match like this."
In doubles play, it was Montana who jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. Despite
Sapir Sela and
Andrea Jansson picking up the first win at the No. 1 court, the Griz rallied for a pair of victories at the second and third spots to grab the advantage.
UND turned to its middle courts for a response during singles play. Freshman
Nore Heinitz leveled the score at 1-1 with a 6-2, 6-3 victory from the No. 4 spot before
Allie Ochotorena gave the Fighting Hawks the 2-1 lead with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 triumph at the third court.
"We made it difficult on ourselves by falling behind 1-0 after a doubles point that was far below our normal and expected standards of level and focus," said Boysen. "Coach Anderson and I challenged the players to be accountable to each other and to the UND process. To their credit, they responded with toughness, determination, and also a very good level of tennis in singles."
A victory at the bottom spot brought the Griz back to even, but it was another freshman who gave UND the lead for good.
Lucia Rizza rolled to a 6-1 score in the first set before dropping the second, 6-4, to send the match to a tiebreaker. There, Rizza answered back with a 6-4 win of her own to put the match within clinching for the green and white.
It was Sela who capped off her perfect weekend in singles play at the No. 1 position with the clinching, 7-5, 7-6 victory and the overall match win. Montana claimed the final point in three sets on the No. 2 court.
"One thing that will continue to be a hallmark of our tennis program is that we get contributions from everyone," said Boysen. Yesterday it was Charlotte, Lucia, Andrea, and Sapir with singles wins. Today, Allie and Nore stepped up with singles wins against very good opponents when we really needed it. Obviously, Lucia and Sapir pulling out tough, gritty wins with the team result on the line should foster a great feeling of confidence within our team. It was a true team effort to get two road victories in Las Vegas this weekend."
North Dakota returns to action at home on Feb. 26 against Milwaukee at 11:30 a.m. from Choice Health and Fitness.
