TULSA, Okla. -- The University of North Dakota women's tennis team defeated Oral Roberts, 5-2, on Saturday evening to open Summit League play with a victory and complete the sweep over the Golden Eagles in Tulsa following the men's win on Friday.
"Great response to a big challenge today," said UND head coach
Tom Boysen. "Conference matches ramp up the intensity and sense of urgency, and today's match proved that. Being outdoors on the road in windy conditions against a good, solid Oral Roberts team provided a great test for our players this afternoon."
UND (8-7, 1-0 Summit League) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in doubles action, claiming wins on the top two courts.
Sapir Sela and
Andrea Jansson on the top court followed by
Allie Ochotorena and
Lucia Rizza at the No. 2 spot both captured victories by 6-4 scores to cement the early advantage.
"Doubles has been a bit of a struggle for us lately, so to win a close, come-from-behind doubles point gave us a confidence boost certainly," said Boysen. "I thought at #1 doubles, Sapir and Andrea did a great job believing in themselves and trusting their games even after a slow start. Lucia and Allie at the #2 spot played some very intelligent doubles in the wind to secure the point for us."
The No. 1 and No. 2 courts came into play in singles action as well, with Sela (7-5, 6-2) and Jansson (6-4, 6-4) each knocking out wins to extend the lead to 3-0. After ORU got on the scoreboard at the sixth position, it was the freshmen who sealed the deal for the Fighting Hawks.
"I think this gives us great confidence as a team going forward in the conference season," said Jansson. "With the circumstances of playing outside with crazy strong wind I think we showed how strong we are throughout the lineup and our willingness to fight for every ball to win!"
Nore Heinitz and Rizza both battled back from defeats in the first set with back-to-back wins in the second and tiebreaker stanzas to secure the match victory for the visitors.
"This win brings great momentum going into the rest of conference season," said Ochotorena. "This shows that we can thrive through adversity, and we have a tough team ready to compete through anything."
North Dakota returns to action at home against league favorite Denver on Mar. 13 at 10 a.m. from Choice Health and Fitness.
"The match got very close during the latter part of singles, and it was great to see Sapir and Andrea feed off each other's energy and turn the tide in our favor at almost the exact same time," said Boysen. "Congratulations to the freshmen - Nore for clinching the match with a tough, gritty win - and Lucia for wrapping things up with another 3-set victory."
Doubles competition
1.
Sapir Sela/
Andrea Jansson (UND) def.
Oleksandra Nahurska/
Zere Iskakova (ORUW) 6-4
2.
Allie Ochotorena/
Lucia Rizza (UND) def.
Aliksandra Lebedeva/
Reagan Miley (ORUW) 6-4
3.
Luna Morini/
Arina Sorokina (ORUW) def.
Charlotte Bowles/
Nore Heinitz (UND) 6-3
Singles competition
1.
Sapir Sela (UND) def.
Oleksandra Nahurska (ORUW) 7-5, 6-2
2.
Andrea Jansson (UND) def.
Aliksandra Lebedeva (ORUW) 6-4, 6-4
3.
Reagan Miley (ORUW) def.
Allie Ochotorena (UND) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
4.
Nore Heinitz (UND) def.
Arina Sorokina (ORUW) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
5.
Lucia Rizza (UND) def.
Luna Morini (ORUW) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
6.
Zere Iskakova (ORUW) def.
Angela Georgieva (UND) 6-3, 6-3
