TULSA, Okla. – Saturday afternoon competition down south turned into a conference-opening win for North Dakota women's tennis, who defeated Oral Roberts, 6-1, to kick off its weekend. On top of convincing all-around performances, UND's own Jule Schulte made history as she broke the all-time wins record in program history.
 
"This was a great start to our conference season and our Spring Break trip," said head coach Tom Boysen. "The team came out today extremely motivated and one point at the start of singles and doubles. We put Oral Roberts in a tough spot right away in both phases of the match."
 
It all started in dominating doubles play, first with the clean 6-0 sweep from the duo of Jule Schulte and Ethel Li at the top court. Andrea Pineda and Alva Norberg followed that up with a 6-3 win of their own from the middle position to clinch the doubles point and the 1-0 UND lead. Alyssa Giupponi and Emma Roberts' match at the No. 3 spot went unfinished, with the pair facing a 3-4 deficit.
 
The Fighting Hawks collected five of six singles matches with their lone loss coming from the No. 1 court. Li took the first set 6-2 but dropped in the second 3-6. The ensuing super tiebreaker went the hard-fought distance and ended in favor of the Golden Eagles, 10-8.
 
Following her win in doubles play that tied history, Schulte officially topped the record books with her singles performance. She did so in electric fashion with a 6-0, 6-2 win at the No. 2 court to secure a program-best 135 career wins.
 
"Jule has been absolutely incredible in both singles and doubles in her career at UND," said Boysen. "She competes for all the right reasons, and we are fortunate to have her at UND. She puts the team first and it shows. 135 wins is an amazing accomplishment, and I know she's ready to add on more wins before she's done with college tennis."
 
At the No. 3 position, Pineda went to work for her convincing 6-2, 6-4, holding off a late rally from ORU, as Norberg added in a strong 6-1, 6-3 win from the fourth position. Giupponi cruised her way to a 6-2 first set win at the No. 5 court before battling to a gritty 7-5 match-sealing second set victory. The bottom spot also ended in a UND victory with a shimmering 6-1, 6-3 win for the freshman, Roberts, to cap off the 6-1 Fighting Hawks win.
 
"I loved how we expanded leads and I am proud of the way we withstood the inevitable pushback that good teams like Oral Roberts gave us in the second sets," said Boysen. "Being outdoors for the first time in a few weeks was a challenge, but the team did a very good job adjusting to the conditions."
 
North Dakota tennis returns to action on Sunday, March 8 with a doubleheader for the Fighting Hawk men and women against Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Okla.

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