Box Score GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota men's tennis team opened up conference play with a 5-2 victory over Illinois State on Saturday night from Choice Health and Fitness in Grand Forks, N.D.
"First and foremost, this was a great college tennis match," said UND head coach Tom Boysen. "The effort, energy, fight and team spirit that both teams displayed for three hours today is what collegiate athletics should always be about. I'm so impressed with the way our team handled the situation today. Illinois State is a very, very good team who came into our building and gave us everything we could handle in a match that could have gone either way."
UND (13-2, 1-0 Summit League) opened up a 1-0 lead in doubles play, grabbing a pair of 7-5 victories on the No. 1 and 3 courts. Nikita Snezkho and
Gerhard Sullwald started it off on the top court before
Drew Van Fossen and
Riley Odell closed out the early start for the hosts.
The Fighting Hawks extended the lead to 2-0, with Snezkho rolling to a 6-1, 6-2 victory on the No. 4 court, but Illinois State rallied back to even the match at 2-2 with back-to-back triumphs on the bottom pair of courts.
Edmond Aynedjian restored the advantage for the green and white with two straight wins by a 6-4 score before Sullwald provided the clinch with a 7-6, 7-6 victory over the reigning Summit League Player of the Year to seal the victory for the hosts.
"Today, we handled the adversity that inevitably creeps into these matches extremely well in most cases," said Boysen. "Riley and Drew did a great job at No. 3 doubles to clinch a close doubles point, but Nikita was an absolute beast in his singles match and Edmond played such a great match both physcially and tactically."
Cian McDonnell battled back from a 6-3 loss in the first set to post a 6-1, 6-4 victory to put the finishing touches on a 5-2 overall win for the Fighting Hawks.
"Cian came back from a rough first set and methodically pulled out a big win for us," said Boysen. "For Gerry to beat the 2022 Summit League Player of the Year to clinch the win for us tonight is so fitting. He is having a tremendous season this spring, but even more than that, I'm so proud of the way he is allowing himself to play fearless tennis in the biggest moments. This was a true team effort, and a terrific start to our conference season."
North Dakota remains home to host Oral Roberts next Friday at 4 p.m. from Grand Forks.
