MACOMB, Ill. -- The University of North Dakota women's tennis team rolled to a 6-1 victory over Western Illinois on Saturday afternoon in Macomb, Ill.
With the win, UND jumps back to .500 overall at 9-9 and moves to 2-1 in Summit League action with four matches against league opponents remaining.
"Always good to get conference wins on the road," said UND head coach
Tom Boysen. "Our players got a little bit of everything this week: heat, humidity and slow outdoor conditions in Florida followed by quick, low-bouncing indoor tennis here in Macomb. It wasn't always pretty today, but we know that good teams find ways to win matches with grit, brains, effort and heart even when the 'A' games aren't present."
North Dakota jumped out a 1-0 lead in doubles play thanks to a pair of victories on the top-2 courts.
Andrea Jansson and
Sapir Sela started it off with a 6-4 victory on the top court before
Allie Ochotorena and
Lucia Rizza finished off the strong start by a 6-1 score at the second position.
Moving to singles action, it was Jansson who kept her strong play going with a pair of 6-1 triumphs at the No. 2 spot to extend the lead to 2-0 before Heinitz pushed the lead to three with a 6-0, 6-3 triumph from the fourth court. Ochotorena notched the clinch for the visitors from the No. 3 court with a 6-1, 6-2 win.
"Andrea, Allie and Nore all did a great job getting leads, expanding them and closing out their matches quickly," stressed Boysen.
Sela battled back from a 6-4 defeat in the opening set to pick up a 6-3, 6-4 victory in the second and third stanzas to extend the lead to 5-0 before
Angela Georgieva added the sixth point at the No. 5 spot by a 7-5, 6-4 score.
"This was a positive way to end our Spring Break trip," said Boysen. "We are excited to be playing some big conference matches over the next four weekends."
North Dakota returns to action next Saturday at 4 p.m. against Kansas City in Summit League action from Choice Health and Fitness in Grand Forks.
