OMAHA, Neb. -- The University of North Dakota women's tennis team captured a 5-2 victory at Omaha on Friday afternoon to move to 3-0 in Summit League action.
UND (8-10, 3-0 Summit League) starts conference play at 3-0 for only the second time since the program moved to Division I, with the last time coming in the 2013-14 season when the green and white also won their first trio of league matches.
"We started extremely well in both doubles and singles today," said UND head coach Tom Boysen. "Winning on the road is a tough task, so the early leads and the pressure that those leads put on our opponents really matter."
The Fighting Hawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the doubles courts, with
Nyah Kauders and
Nore Heinitz rolling to a 6-0 win at the No. 2 spot before Omaha battled back with a victory on the bottom court to turn all attention to the top pair. It was North Dakota who came away with the strong start, as
Sapir Sela and
Andrea Jansson notched a 6-2 triumph to clinch a 1-0 lead in the two-person action.
NoDak extended the advantage to 2-0 early in singles play from the fourth position, with Jule Schule cruising to a 6-3, 6-0 score. Jansson kept it rolling for the visitors from the third court with a 7-5, 6-4 win before Heinitz sealed the win by a 7-5, 6-3 victory at the No. 5 spot.
Angela Georgieva put the finishing touches on a 5-2 victory for UND with a 7-6, 3-6, 1-0 triumph at the No. 6 position.
"We had several singles matches today in which the first sets were extremely close at the end," said Boysen. "I thought Nyah, Andrea, Sapir and Nore all did an outstanding job closing out those sets and then quickly getting early leads in their second sets. Jule dud a great job today in getting her seventh consecutive win, and Angela won another close match. This was a true team victory."
North Dakota returns home and goes for a 4-0 start in Summit League action against Western Illinois on Friday, March 31 at 4 p.m. from Choice Health and Fitness.
"We are getting contributions from all spots in our lineup over the last several matches, and that builds trust among teammates," said Boysen. "We are excited to play at home next Friday and build on our recent successes."
