GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota women's tennis team fell, 4-3, to Montana State in a tightly-contested match on Friday afternoon from Choice Health and Fitness in Grand Forks, N.D. 

The tight battle began in doubles, with two sides splitting on the top pair of courts before seeing the No. 3 spot play to a 7-6 tiebreaker. The middle pairing of Nore Heinitz and Jule Schulte grabbed a 6-2 victory for the Fighting Hawks (4-2), but it was Montana State (4-3) who held on at the bottom court in the tiebreaker to grab the 1-0 lead. 

UND bounced right back in singles play, however, as Ethel Li quickly knotted the score at 1-1 with a pair of 6-3 wins on the No. 3 court. After Montana State grabbed a pair of three-set victories from the first and second positions to take a 3-1 advantage, Heinitz capped off her strong day with a 7-6, 6-3 triumph on the No. 4 court to pull the Hawks back within a point at 3-2. 

Alyssa Giupponi brought the match level at 3-3 with a 7-6, 1-6, 6-2 win from the bottom spot to turn all attention to the No. 5 court. There, MSU once again captured a tiebreaker in the third set to claim the match, 4-3. 

North Dakota will look to earn a weekend split against Northern Iowa on Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. 

For more information on North Dakota women's tennis, follow on social media @UNDwtennis or visit FightingHawks.com.