INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Omaha men's tennis team captured a dramatic victory Friday afternoon at the West Indy Racquet Club, defeating Oral Roberts by a score of 4-3 in come-from-behind fashion to advance to the Summit League Men's Tennis Championship final on Saturday morning.
With the score tied 3-3, freshman Razvan Grigorescu battled Barnabas Koncz into the third set with Grigorescu eventually winning the tiebreaker, 7-6, to move the Mavericks into the championship.
"Coming off our last match I knew this was going to be a tough match," said head coach Tyson Thomas. "There was a moment when the match was tied 1-1 and we had five matches playing in third sets that today could have gone either way. I felt we hit a tipping point and believed we were going to win."
Omaha took control of the match early by winning two of three doubles matches to claim the doubles point. Sophomore Alex Woodward and freshman Nathan Reekie got by Koncz and Amar Saletovic at No. 2, 6-4. Then Grigorescu and senior Colin Buckley clinched the doubles point with a tight 7-5 win at No. 1.
The Golden Eagles took a 2-1 lead after victories at No. 4 and No. 5 singles. Woodward evened the match at 2-2 with a split set win over Alvaro Santamaria, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Oral Roberts regained the lead 3-2 with a split set win at No. 3.
Reekie rallied for a 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 win at No. 2 to set the stage for the deciding match at No. 1.
"We played as a team and earned this victory as a team," said Thomas. "Oral Roberts is a good team, and this was a program defining win. It was a hard fought victory and I couldn't be more proud of this team. We had some guys who really stepped up today."
UNO is now 9-13 overall, while Oral Roberts ends its season at 9-12.
Omaha will now play No. 1 seed Denver in the Summit League Championship match at 10 a.m. CT at the West Indy Racquet Club. Links to live stats will be available on OMavs.com.
Match Notes
- Omaha won its first Summit League Tournament match after dropping its semifinal last season.
- Razvan Grigorescu clinched both the doubles and match points for Omaha.
- Omaha won three of the five third sets in the match.
- The No. 1 singles matchup featured the past two Summit League Newcomer of the Year honorees.
- Omaha Mavericks 4, Oral Roberts 3 (Apr 28, 2017, at West Indy Racquet Club)
Singles competition
1. #87 Razvan Grigorescu (OMAHA/13.29) def. Barnabas Koncz (ORU/12.48) 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
2. Nathan Reekie (OMAHA/11.99) def. Jan Pehnec (ORU/12.14) 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
3. Amar Saletovic (ORU/12.42) def. Matt Dunn (OMAHA/11.75) 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-1
4. Kenneth Boykin (ORU/12.75) def. Colin Buckley (OMAHA/11.39) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
5. Michael Sosnowski (ORU/12.79) def. Joni Heizlsperger (OMAHA/11.88) 6-4, 6-1
6. Alex Woodward (OMAHA/11.54) def. Alvaro Santamaria (ORU/11.57) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Colin Buckley/Razvan Grigorescu (OMAHA) def. Jan Pehnec/Kenneth Boykin (ORU) 7-5
2. Nathan Reekie/Alex Woodward (OMAHA) def. Barnabas Koncz/Amar Saletovic (ORU) 6-4
3. Michael Sosnowski/Alvaro Santamaria (ORU) def. Louis-Jonas Heizlsperger/John Ellis (OMAHA) 6-2
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,4,6,3,2,1)
A-25
