BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Saturday evening competition literally came down to the wire for the North Dakota men's tennis team and the unrelenting grit proved to be in favor of the Fighting Hawks as they claimed a 4-3 conference victory over Illinois State.
 
The win pushes UND to a 14-9 overall record with a 4-2 conference showing while the Redbirds drop to 9-13 and 2-3. It all but solidifies the North Dakota men's bid to the post-season for the Summit League Men's Championship next weekend.
 
Doubles play did not start in favor of the Fighting Hawks as the host Redbirds took a narrow 7-5 win from the top court alongside a 6-3 win at the middle position to clinch the doubles point. With the 1-0 lead secured, the match at the No. 3 court went unfinished, leaving Leo Galliano and Cole Wilber tied at 6-6.
 
"We knew we had to win this match to make the conference tournament," said associate head coach Kyle Anderson. "We were outplayed in doubles, but the boys dug deep to claw their way back."
 
Then the back-and-forth battle was on.
 
Justin Ilic cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win at the No. 4 position to tie things up before Illinois State responded with a three-set 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 win from the bottom court. The score again tied up—this time at 2-2—after Galliano fought off his threatening opponent at the No. 1 court to take home a hard-fought 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 battle.
 
That North Dakota momentum seemed to influence the competition down at court No. 5, where Christos Alex was also locked in a three-set contest. He hung on for a nail-biting third set victory to secure a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 win that pushed the visitors ahead at 3-2 with two matches still in competition.
 
That's when the spotlight turned to the No. 2 court. Darrshan Suresh Kumar had taken a thrilling 7-6 (5) first set for the early advantage before faltering in the second set at 4-6. The freshman then fully hopped into the driver's seat to clinch the team win with an electric 6-4 third set victory.
 
The score would go final at 4-3 after a heartbreaker at the No. 3 court for Kotaro Matsumura as the Redbirds won 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
 
"Kotaro and Cole gave themselves a great chance to win, Justin put together his most complete win of the season, Leo put a stamp on his incredible year, Christos was all heart and wouldn't be denied and Darrshan displayed remarkable poise to clinch the win," said Anderson.
 
Final brackets and championship matches will be formally announced on Sunday afternoon following the conclusion of the match between Denver and Omaha, but North Dakota's ticket to the conference post-season has been firmly stamped.
 
"To come together like these eight young men did today says a lot about their collective character," said head coach Tom Boysen. "On the road in a match that featured five of six matches going to a third set in a hostile environment, I couldn't be more proud of these student-athletes."
 
For more information on North Dakota men's tennis, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmtennis.