UND guys’s tennis reaches Summit League last for first time
GRAND FORKS– The UND males’s tennis team attained another initially this season.The Fighting Hawks will play for the Top League title. UND beat Omaha 4-1 in the conference
tournament semifinals Friday at Denver Tennis Park.The Battling Hawks will play regular-season champion and league powerhouse Denver at 11 a.m. Saturday for the Summit League title. The winner advances to the NCAA tournament.It marks the first time the men’s tennis team has actually reached the conference final as a Division-I program.UND enhanced to 18-4, contributing to its program record for wins in a season.It marks the third time any UND team has bet a Top
League postseason title. The males’s basketball team did it in 2020.
The ladies’s tennis group did it in 2023. The Battling Hawks got off to a great start Friday by winning the doubles point.UND’s Ethan Terry and Andrew Hayduke II beat Omaha’s Ethan Gaubert and Pavan
Uppu 6-4 at No. 2 doubles. UND’s Leo Galliano and Jerall Yasin beat Omaha’s Caleb Peterson and Christian Trevey 6-4 at No. 3 doubles to seal it. The Battling Hawks followed it up with a strong performance in singles, despite the fact that Hayduke had to withdraw.The Fighting Hawks placed Christos Alex into the lineup for Hayduke. Alex rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 triumph at No. 6 singles.Galliano hammered Gaubert 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3 singles.UND’s Ange-Kevin Koua beat Bryan Kuntz 7-6(4 ), 6-2 at No. 2 songs to seal the 4-1 victory.After winning match point, Koua dropped his racquet, raised his hands in the air and welcomed his teammates.He upgraded the Top League bracket by sticking UND’s name card into the champion slot. UND will get a rematch versus Denver in the Summit League last. The groups played in the regular-season ending last week in Grand Forks.
Denver won 5-0 after a prolonged hold-up to begin the match to clinch the regular-season championship.The Leaders are the defending Summit League champs and are 6-0 against conference challengers this season. UND completed second in the regular
season and is 5-1 against league foes. Denver knocks out UND females The UND females lost 4-0 to Denver in the Summit League semifinals Friday in Denver.The Pioneers have won more than 70 straight Top League duals.UND, which ended up 4th location in the Summit League during the routine season, completed 14-8. By Brad Elliott Schlossman Schlossman has actually covered college hockey
for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the leading beat writer for the Herald’s flow division 4 times and the North Dakota sportswriter of the year twice. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at bschlossman@gfherald.com.