GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota women's tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to Omaha on Saturday afternoon from Choice Health and Fitness in Grand Forks, N.D.
UND drops to 10-11 overall on the season and 3-3 in Summit League play with just one match remaining. The Fighting Hawks will now need some help to reach the postseason, requiring a victory over St. Thomas and a pair of losses from Omaha in the final weekend.
"From a competitive standpoint, our team left it all out on the courts today," said UND head coach
Tom Boysen. "I am extremely proud of their fight and their level of care the program. That is why this loss will hurt for quite some time, and that's a good thing. It will make us hungry and motivated to make the necessary improvements moving forward."
After Omaha jumped out to a 1-0 lead in doubles play following wins on the No. 1 and No. 3 court, UND started to rally back.
Nore Heinitz knotted the score at 1-1 with a 6-3, 6-0 win on the fourth position before
Sapir Sela gave the hosts the lead in a three-set thriller.
The sophomore captured the first set, 6-2, before falling by the same score in the second frame to push the match to that tiebreaker. There, Sela notched a 6-3 triumph to push the Hawks to a 2-1 advantage.
Omaha knotted the score at 2-2, but
Lucia Rizza answered for the green and white again in three sets at the fifth spot. The rookie split the opening stanzas, 6-3, 1-6, before holding off her opponent by a 7-6 score to put the Hawks within clinching position.
The Mavericks came out victorious, however, grabbing a pair of wins on the No. 6 and No. 2 courts to finish the 4-3 overall match victory.
"We simply didn't do a good job closing out leads today on several courts and in numerous situations," said Boysen. "We will work hard to be better at that skill in the immediate future. Hats off to a very good, very disciplined Omaha team."
North Dakota closes out the regular season at St. Thomas next Saturday at 11 a.m. from St. Paul, Minn.
