BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The University of North Dakota men's tennis team mounted a ferocious rally to complete a 4-3 victory over Illinois State on Sunday afternoon from the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Ill.
With the victory, North Dakota has assured itself of a postseason berth in the Summit League Tennis Championships for the fourth straight season and will be either the No. 2, 3 or 4 seed.
"This was great validation for our team on why we work hard, why we preach toughness, grit, and being great competitors," said UND head coach Tom Boysen. "It doesn't guarantee any wins, but it gives you a chance to win. We hung around, hung around some more, and kept matches going today on so many courts. We gave ourselves a chance to play more tennis, to play some great tennis, and to let our opponents start to doubt the outcome of the match."
Illinois State, who entered the match unbeaten at home and perfect in conference play, got off to a strong start with a pair of wins on the No. 2 and 3 courts in doubles action to take a 1-0 lead. The top pairing of
Ange-Kevin Koua and
Victor Moreno Lozano grabbed a 6-4 victory to build momentum heading into singles play.
The Redbirds seemed to have grabbed hold of the match, extending the lead to 3-0 with a win on the No. 6 set and a three-set triumph at the fifth position, but UND began to rally back.
Leandro Zgraggen got the Fighting Hawks on the board with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory at the No. 2 position to trim the deficit to 3-1 before
Ethan Terry forced a third set of his own by trading 6-2 scores over his first two stanzas and had to fight off a match point in the tiebreaker to earn a 7-6 win at the fourth spot to cut the lead to 3-2.
After Moreno Lozano opened his first set with a 6-2 victory, the graduate student dropped the middle frame to head to another tiebreaker. There, Moreno Lozano had to overcome a pair of match points against the 2022 league player of the year to grab a 7-5 win and even the score at 3-3.
"So happy for Victor to get a win at No. 1 against a former Summit League Player of the Year (2022), especially after battling an injury for much of this year," said Boysen.
With all eyes on the No. 3 court, Koua was locked into another tight match and the two sides traded victories over the opening sets to send the match into a tiebreaker. There, Koua held on for a 6-4 win complete the comeback and capture the 4-3 match triumph.
"Winning 4 matches in 3 sets, and winning two separate matches in which we had to save match points is kind of crazy, but it also happens because you do enough things right to give yourself a chance," said Boysen. "Ethan and Leandro did such a great job making adjustments in their third sets, and Kevin has been so good in close matches this year. He was composed, tough, and resilient in the biggest moments to clinch the match for us today."
North Dakota will enjoy a week off before learning its seed, opponent and time for the postseason beginning on Friday, April 19 from Des Moines, Iowa.
For more information on North Dakota men's tennis, follow on social media @UNDmtennis or visit FightingHawks.com.
