TELAQUAH, Okla. – North Dakota men’s and women’s tennis teams dominated in a dual Sunday showdown against Northeastern State, collecting a clean sweep with two wins over the RiverHawks by a 5-2 score for the men and a 7-0 showing for the women.
MEN: North Dakota 5, Northeastern State 2
Competition began fast for the Fighting Hawks in men’s doubles play, first starting with a convincing 6-2 win for the duo of Leo Galliano and Walker Valentine from the top court. Justin Ilic and Cole Wilber added in a 6-3 win from the third position to clinch the North Dakota double’s point and the 1-0 lead as Christos Alex and Darrshan Suresh Kumar’s match from the middle court went unfinished despite a 5-4 lead.
The battle was on in singles competition as UND collected four of six matches. Galliano fell in a tight knit first-set battle, 6-7 (4), and bounced back in dominating fashion. He cruised through the next two sets for a stifling pair of 6-1, 6-3 victories to take the win at the top court.
Suresh Kumar also put the pedal to the metal in his No. 2 spot performance with an electric 6-0, 6-2 win. Alex fought through an all-out battle at the No. 4 court and emerged victoriously in his gritty match, 6-4, 7-5. The final points for North Dakota came from the bottom position as Nikita Sclearenco made his season singles debut with a 6-4, 6-3 win to solidify the 5-2 UND victory.
The lone two losses for the Fighting Hawks came from the No. 3 and 5 courts, ending in close 3-6, 3-6 and 2-6, 1-6 losses, respectively.
WOMEN: North Dakota 7, Northeastern State
As the men went to work, the women also took on the battle against the RiverHawks in dual Sunday competition.
The eventual clean sweep from the Fighting Hawks began with quick work in doubles play that was backed by two strong performances.
Ethel Li and Jule Schulte battled their way to a strong 6-4 win from the No. 1 court before Emma Roberts and Alyssa Giupponi collected a 6-1 win of their own from the No. 3 court. With the doubles point clinched and the 1-0 lead on the scoreboard, the match at the middle position went unfinished, leaving Alva Norberg and Linn Svaerd ahead at 6-5.
North Dakota domination continued all through one-on-one competition, including the fiery 6-1, 6-3 win from the top spot for Li. Schulte joined her in victory with a mirrored pair of 6-3, 6-3 wins at the No. 2 court and Norberg absolutely rallied for a battled 7-6 (6), 6-2 win from the third spot.
Giupponi also faced an all-out contest at the No. 4 position, which started with narrowly taking the first set at 7-5. The second set was even tighter battle as the RiverHawks won 6-7 (7) to force a super tiebreak. But the sophomore fought off the late opponent rally to take the 10-8 lead and secure the latest singles win.
Roberts won 6-2, 6-2 in back-to-back sets before Cameron collected a pair of 6-2, 6-4 wins to finalize the 7-0 win and sweep for the Fighting Hawks.
North Dakota tennis will continue its Spring Break road trip with mid-week stops down in Louisiana at Nicholls State on Wednesday, March 11 and New Orleans on Thursday, March 12.
For updates and more information on North Dakota tennis, follow on social media @UNDmtennis and @UNDwtennis or visit FightingHawks.com.
