BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- For the third time over the last four matches, the University of North Dakota men's tennis team mounted a rally and notched a 4-3 victory over Illinois State on Saturday night from Bloomington, Ill.
With the win, UND picks up its 12th win of the season to mark the most in the program's Division I era of men's tennis and clinches a berth in the upcoming Summit League Tennis Championships with a 3-1 record. The Fighting Hawks have just one match remaining in the regular season against current league-leader Drake.
It was the Fighting Hawks who jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the doubles courts, with
Riley Odell and
Dylan Leeman picking up a 6-2 win on the bottom courts before
Gerhard Sullwald and
Nikita Snezhko followed with a 6-4 victory on the top court to seal the strong start.
The Redbirds battled back and seemingly took control of the match in singles play, picking up three straight wins to jump in front, 3-1. UND started to rally in the tiebreakers, with Leeman starting the comeback at the No. 6 court with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 triumph to pull the visitors within one, 3-2.
Moments later, Snezhko also grabbed a win in three sets at the fourth position by a 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 score to tie the contest at 3-3 and turn all eyes to the No. 2 court. There,
Edmond Aynedjian traded 6-3 scores in the first two sets to force a tiebreaker and cruised to a 6-2 victory to seal the overall match win for the Fighting Hawks.
North Dakota will enjoy a weekend off before closing out the regular season against Drake at Choice Health and Fitness on Apr. 16 at 4 p.m.
