GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota men's tennis team made its first mark in league play on Sunday afternoon, defeating Omaha by a 6-1 score from Choice Health and Fitness in Grand Forks, N.D.
UND (6-4, 1-0 Summit League) overwhelmed the Mavericks from the jump, claiming all but one match and starting the conference season with a 1-0 mark for the third straight season.
"I am so proud of this team right now," said UND head coach
Tom Boysen following the win. "We asked them to focus on passion, maturity, and competitiveness in this match rather than focusing on trying to play perfect tennis. They passed the test."
The Fighting Hawks brought the juice early, jumping out to a 1-0 lead by claiming all three matches during doubles play. Newcomers
Dylan Leeman and
Riley Odell started it off on the bottom court with a 6-1 win while
Edmond Aynedjian and
Cian McDonnell sealed the point with a 6-2 victory from the No. 2 position. UND brought home the sweep in two-man play for the home crowd, with
Nikita Snezhko and
Gerhard Sullwald notching a 6-3 triumph at the top spot.
"Doubles on all three courts was electric," stressed Boysen. "The tennis level and energy were outstanding."
McDonnell capped off his perfect weekend with the first singles win of the day for the hosts by a 6-4, 7-5 score on the No. 2 court to push the lead to 2-0; however, the Mavericks answered back at the top position to trim the lead back to one, 2-1.
UND was not phased against a program who had just taken down Big Ten foe Nebraska a week prior, with Leeman rallying from a first set defeat to post back-to-back 6-1 wins on the No. 6 court to send the match to its clinching point.
There, it was Snezhko at the fifth position who clinched the victory with a 6-4, 7-5 triumph and the third win in four tries for the Fighting Hawks at home.
"In singles, we played our games - and played them well - in clutch moments of the matches," stressed Boysen. "We played freely, and we played points that made sense."
North Dakota wasn't satisfied with just the four points, as both Odell and Aynedjian both overcame a rally from Omaha in the second stanza to record a three-set victory and notch the 6-1 victory.
"Every player had key contributions to this win, whether it was coming from behind, closing out sets on the first try, extending leads, or in other ways," said Boysen. "This was just one match on our journey this season, but it was a great indicator of what our hard work and discipline can bring."
UND will look to move to 2-0 in league play next weekend at Oral Roberts on Friday from Tulsa.
DOUBLES RESULTS
Snezhko/Sullwald over Hulme/Henry
6-3
Aynedjian/McDonnell over Korkunov/Luhring
6-2
Leeman/Odell over Piles/Chen
6-1
(Order of finish: 3,2,1)
SINGLES RESULTS
Hulme over Sullwald
6-3, 7-5
McDonnell over Korkunov
6-4, 7-5
Aynedjian over Chen
6-4, 6-7, (10-6)
Odell over Piles
7-5, 2-6, (10-6)
Snezhko over Mylavarapu
6-4, 7-5
Leeman over Luhring
5-7, 6-1, 6-1
(Order of finish: 2,1,6,5,4,3)
