The University of North Dakota women’s tennis team lost a close contest to Omaha, 4-3, on April 4 at Choice Health and Fitness in Grand Forks. The defeat ended the Fighting Hawks’ nine-match winning streak and moved their record to 12-8 overall and 3-1 in conference play, while the Mavericks improved to 13-8 and remained undefeated in conference action.
This result is significant for North Dakota as it marks the end of a long stretch of victories. The outcome also affects the team’s standing within their conference as they approach the final matches of the regular season.
In doubles play, Andrea Pineda and Alva Norberg won convincingly with a score of 6-1 from the middle court. Ethel Li and Jule Schulte rallied from behind at the top position to secure a comeback win, taking five straight games for a 6-4 victory. With these wins, North Dakota took an early lead as Alyssa Giupponi and Emma Roberts were tied at 5-5 when their match was left unfinished.
Omaha responded by winning singles matches at key positions. After tying up the score with a win at No.1 singles, UND’s Giupponi helped her team regain an advantage with a straight-set victory on court five. However, Omaha took both No.3 and No.4 singles after hard-fought battles that ended in straight sets.
Roberts kept North Dakota’s hopes alive by coming back from losing her first set to win her match decisively in three sets (3-6, 6-3, 6-0), evening up the overall score at three apiece. The deciding match came down to Schulte on court two; despite her efforts she lost narrowly (7-5, 6-4), allowing Omaha to clinch victory.
Looking ahead, North Dakota will travel for its final regular-season road game against Denver on Saturday, April 11.
