GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota women's tennis team punched its ticket to the postseason with a thrilling, 5-2 win over St. Thomas in the final match of the regular season on Sunday morning from Choice Health and Fitness in Grand Forks, N.D.
With the victory, UND will advance to the Summit League Tennis Championships as the No. 3 seed and will battle second-seeded South Dakota at noon on Friday, April 19 in Des Moines, Iowa. The Fighting Hawks earned the third seed in the three-team tiebreaker criteria with Oral Roberts and Omaha, which is the point differential (maximum four for winning team) for league matches only between the teams involved in the tie.
North Dakota earned the No. 3 seed with a +1 differential against Omaha (+4) and Oral Roberts (-3). The Golden Eagles received the No. 4 slot with a zero differential against North Dakota (+3) and Omaha (-3). The Mavericks were eliminated from postseason contention as they earned a -1 differential against Oral Roberts (+3) and North Dakota (-4).
The Fighting Hawks also closed out their home slate in style by finishing with a perfect 6-0 mark on their home court and honoring the four members of the senior class following the victory.
It was a thrilling match that saw six total courts play a tiebreaker in both singles and doubles, but it was UND that jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a pair of 7-6 triumphs on the No. 1 and 2 courts. After St. Thomas grabbed a 6-4 win at the bottom spot,
Sapir Sela and
Andrea Jansson battled back for a 7-6 (7-1) win on the No. 1 court before
Nore Heinitz and
Jule Schulte outlasted their competition on the middle court in a thrilling, 7-6 (12-10), victory. The duo trailed 5-1 early in the match, but rallied back before once again holding off a match point in the tiebreaker to secure the win and the 1-0 lead for the hosts.
Schulte kept her momentum rolling into singles play, extending the lead to 2-0 on the No. 3 court with a 7-6, 6-2 win but the Tommies answered back with a pair of 6-3 scores at the top spot to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Those matches were the only to be decided in two sets, as the final four contests all went the distance. Despite UND dropping the first set in all four matches, the green and white rallied to claim the middle stanza and force a tiebreaker.
Nore Heinitz extended the lead to 3-1 with a pair of 6-1 wins over the final two sets on the No. 4 court while
Andrea Jansson fittingly provided the clinch on her senior day with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 triumph at the second spot.
Lucia Rizza added the final touch to the victory with a 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory at the No. 5 position to finalize the 5-2 match victory.
For more information on North Dakota women's tennis, follow on social media @UNDwtennis or visit FightingHawks.com.
