DEKALB, Ill. – The Omaha men's tennis team lost a 4-3 decision to Northern Illinois on Friday afternoon at the Boylan Tennis Center in Rockford, Ill. With the loss, the Mavericks are 0-2 on the season, while the Huskies improved to 4-1.
Omaha and Northern Illinois split the first two doubles matches before the Huskies clinched the point with a tiebreaker win. NIU's duo of Louis-Philippe Hamel and Tom Hjertonsson defeated
Matt Dunn and
Luke Moorhead at No. 3, 6-2. UNO's No. 1 doubles tandem of
Razvan Grigorescu and
Abdoul Ouattara outlasted Eric Marbach and Kristopher Ortega, 6-4. The Huskies clinched the point with a 7-6 (4) win at No. 2.
Omaha and Northern Illinois split the six singles matches. The Huskies opened with wins at No. 3 and No. 6 before Ouattara put the Mavericks on the board with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 2 over Bor Schweiger Muzar.
Northern Illinois clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 3. Grigorescu picked up a point for Omaha with a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 1 over Eric Marbach. Dunn picked up his first win of the season in dramatic fashion at No. 4. After dropping the first set 6-4, he won the second set 7-5 before taking the super tiebreaker 10-6.
"It was a tough loss today," said head coach
Tyson Thomas. "I'm proud of the guys as always, they fought hard and represented Omaha well. I'm happy that we're close, but I believe we are capable of winning these matches. The guys keep working hard and keep putting it all on the line. Good things are going to come."
The Mavericks return to action tomorrow against St. Louis in Rockford, Ill. First serve is set for 10 a.m.
Tennis Match Results
Omaha vs Northern Illinois (Jan 26, 2018 at DeKalb, IL (Boylan Tennis Center)
Northern Illinois 4, Omaha 3
Singles competition
1.
Razvan Grigorescu (OMAHA) def. Eric Marbach (NIU) 6-4, 6-1
2.
Abdoul Ouattara (OMAHA) def. Bor Schweiger Muzar (NIU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Kristopher Ortega (NIU) def.
Nathan Reekie (OMAHA) 6-1, 6-3
4.
Matt Dunn (OMAHA) def. Georg Lundkvist (NIU) 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6)
5. Louis-Philippe Hamel (NIU) def.
Alex Woodward (OMAHA) 6-3, 6-1
6. Victor Spolidorio (NIU) def.
Luke Moorhead (OMAHA) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1.
Razvan Grigorescu/
Abdoul Ouattara (OMAHA) def. Eric Marbach/Kristopher Ortega (NIU) 6-4
2. Bor Schweiger Muzar/Georg Lundkvist (NIU) def.
Nathan Reekie/
Alex Woodward (OMAHA) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Tom Hjertonsson/Louis-Philippe Hamel (NIU) def.
Matt Dunn/
Luke Moorhead (OMAHA) 6-2
Match Notes:
Omaha 0-2
Northern Illinois 4-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,3,2,5,1,4)
