OMAHA, Neb. -- The University of North Dakota men's tennis team set a new program record on Friday night, defeating Omaha, 5-2, to notch its 11th straight victory.
The win improves NoDak to 14-3 overall and a perfect 3-0 in Summit League play to remain in first place in the league standings. The Fighting Hawks also set a program record with their 11th straight win, besting the previous record set in 2022-23.
"Every match has unique challenges and obstacles," said UND head coach
Tom Boysen. "The way we respond to success, adversity and pressure within these matches reveals a lot about the type of competitors we are individually and as a whole."
The bottom duo of
Ethan Terry and
Jerall Yasin picked up a victory in two-person play by a 6-4 score, but Omaha jumped out to a 1-0 lead in doubles action, grabbing a pair of wins on the No. 1 and 2 courts in 7-6 fashion.
"Tonight's doubles point was very high-level and very intense," said Boysen. "Omaha just played better than us at the very end."
NoDak responded in singles play, however, winning the first four matches to claim the overall match victory.
Leo Galliano started it off with a 6-1, 6-0 triumph on the No. 3 court before
Leandro Zgraggen rattled off back-to-back 6-3 scores from the top spot to give the Fighting Hawks their first lead of the night, 2-1.
"The way we responded right away in singles with confidence and purpose was terrific," said Boysen. "There was no panic."
Andrew Hayduke II extended the advantage to 3-1 with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at the fourth position before Terry sealed the deal with his second clinch over the Mavericks in as many seasons by a 6-1, 6-4 score on the No. 5 court.
Ange-Kevin Koua added the sixth point of the night for the visitors with a 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 (10-6) win at the No. 2 spot to cement the 6-1 final.
"Congrats to this group of UND student-athletes for establishing a new record of consecutive wins in program history with eleven," said Boysen.
North Dakota will look to make it a dozen straight wins on Saturday afternoon against Creighton at 3 p.m.
For more information on North Dakota men's tennis, follow on social media @UNDmtennis or visit FightingHawks.com.
