GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota men's tennis put the pedal to the metal early on in doubles play and kept the momentum rolling in singles action to secure a dominant 6-1 victory over the Augustana Vikings on Friday evening inside Choice Health & Fitness.
 
Kotaro Matsumura and Darrshan Suresh Kumar teamed up on the No. 2 court and quickly cruised to a stifling 6-0 victory before Justin Ilic and Cole Wilber joined them in nearly the same fashion with a fierce 6-1 win from the No. 3 position.
 
At the top spot, Leo Galliano and Walker Valentine fought back from a mid-point deficit to secure a strong 6-4 win and a sweep in doubles competition for the 1-0 UND lead.
 
"It felt like a very complete victory tonight," said head coach Tom Boysen. "I was extremely pleased with how we jumped out to big leads in two of the three doubles matches and five of the six singles matches. We were ready to set the tone from the onset and that's a good recipe for success in a college tennis match."
 
When one-on-one action began, Ilic and Matsumura picked up right where they left off. The dominating momentum came in the form of a 6-1, 6-1 win from the No. 3 court for Ilic and another 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 4 position for Matsumura. The match was firmly clinched from the top spot as Galliano battled his way to a 6-1, 6-4 win for the 4-0 advantage.
 
Augustana struck back with a 6-4, 6-2 win from the No. 6 court, but North Dakota would walk away with the final two victories of the evening.
 
Valentine fought off a rally from his Viking opponent to walk away with a 6-2, 6-4 win that left Suresh Kumar as the lone Fighting Hawk still in action at the No. 2 court. The freshman clawed back from an early second set deficit and secured the gritty 6-2, 6-3 win for the 6-1 team victory.
 
"Multiples guys expanded early leads by just sticking to what was working and showing some good focus and discipline," said Boysen. "Those are decisions that players can choose to make and control, and I thought we did that tonight. It was great to be back home at Choice after four consecutive weekends on the road."
 
North Dakota men's tennis will return to action in front of a home crowd on Friday, February 27 as the Fighting Hawks take on Montana at 11:30 a.m. inside Choice Health & Fitness.  

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