The UNK tennis teams split their dual matches against Lubbock Christian (Texas) on Friday. The women secured a 4-3 victory while the men fell 5-2 at the Ernst Grundy Tennis Center.
The 13th-ranked UNK women’s team remained undefeated at 4-0 in their first spring semester dual, while the men’s team fell to 3-4.
Lubbock Christian was heading into Kearney with an undefeated record at 4-0. The Lady Chaps would drop their first game of the spring season to the hand of the Lopers.
“We were in the right spot, and made good swings in doubles competition,” coach Scott Shafer said. “The hardest sports to win on the road are basketball, football and whoever plays us at the tennis center”
UNK senior Narindra Ranaivo of Madagascar clinched the winning point for the women with a three-set victory at No. two singles (6-1, 4-6, 6-2). The Lopers dominated doubles play, sweeping all matches while allowing just six points. Sophomores Fabiana Gamboa of Venezuela and Tanya Midzi of Zimbabwe added straight-set wins at No. 1 and No. 3 singles, respectively. Both Ranaivo (35th) and Gamboa (23rd) are nationally ranked in singles and defeated their ranked Lubbock Christian opponents. In doubles, Midzi and Ranaivo shut out Division II’s 14th-ranked tandem.
On the men’s side, UNK suffered its second loss this season to the Chaparrals (3-1), who secured the win by taking the final three singles matches in three sets. Lubbock Christian’s lineup features the 34th and 32nd-ranked Division II players at No. 1 and No. 2 singles.
The Loper men started strong, claiming the doubles point as sophomore Tom van den Dungen of the Netherlands and freshman Adrian Constantin of Romania won 7-5 at No. 1, while junior Alex Jaulin of Australia and freshman Ivan Melnik of Germany took No. 3 by the same score. In singles, sophomore Andy Brisdon of the U.K. won in straight sets at No. 5 to briefly tie the dual at two.
Augustana University then swept UNK less than 48 hours later on Sunday, with the women winning 4-1 and the men edging out a 4-3 victory.
Ranaivo and Midzi secured a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles, while senior Masha Hatouka of Belarus and Alexis Bernthal of Boulder, Colorado, matched that score at No. 2. The No. 3 doubles match remained unfinished, tied at five.
However, the Vikings (3-0) extended their dominance over the Lopers, winning their 10th consecutive dual by taking four singles matches in straight sets. Hatouka ranked sixth nationally, and Ranaivo, ranked second, both had their singles matches tied through two sets but were left unfinished.
“We make progress every day to get closer to our goal, we believe we are almost there,” Shafer said.
On the men’s side, UNK (3-5) fell to 1-3 as Augustana (3-1) claimed four singles matches in three sets. The Lopers took on Creighton Tuesday night and will host Southwest Baptist and Metro State next weekend. The UNK women will also face Southwest Baptist and MSU Denver in their upcoming matches.
