Northwest tennis wins NCAA Tournament opener against Nebraska-Kearney

The Northwest Missouri State University men’s tennis team advanced to the NCAA Championship Tournament with a 5-4 victory over Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday.

– Due to weather, the match was played at the Montgomery County YMCA in Red Oak, Iowa.

– The win moves the No. 19 ranked Bearcats to 18-3 overall while No. 44 Nebraska-Kearney ends the season at 11-10.

– This marks the ninth time in Northwest history the team had advanced to the NCAA Championship Tournament and the fifth straight appearance for the Bearcats.

– Northwest got off to a strong start, winning at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to take a 2-1 lead into singles play.

– UNK tied the match with a win at No. 3 singles but Northwest battled back with a victory at No. 2 from Sergi Fontcuberta and at No. 5 from Aymeric Autones.

– The three other singles matches all went three sets. No. 1 Romain Boissinot fell in a tough tiebreaker to make it 4-3 Northwest.

– The Lopers picked up another point at No. 5 singles to tie the match, 4-4.

– Fin Glowick had a crucial break in the third set of the No. 6 singles match and broke serve to claim match-winning set.

Scores
1. #46 Wakim,Georges (UNK) def. #34 Boissinot,Romain (NW) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5-5)
2. #35 Fontcuberta,Sergi (NW) def. Balado,Pepe (UNK) 6-4, 6-3
3. El Zanaty,Mohab (UNK) def. Tete,Mauro (NW) 6-4, 6-0
4. Arias,Alvaro (UNK) def. Altmann,Josef (NW) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
5. Autones,Aymeric (NW) def. Richards,Joey (UNK) 6-0, 6-1
6. Glowick,Fin (NW) def. Nguyen,Justin (UNK) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5

Doubles competition
1. Garces,Lucas/El Zanaty,Mohab (UNK) def. Tete,Mauro/Sherif,Youssef (NW) 8-5
2. Boissinot,Romain/Fontcuberta,Sergi (NW) def. Nguyen,Justin/Wakim,Georges (UNK) 8-5
3. Altmann,Josef/Autones,Aymeric (NW) def. Richards,Joey/Balado,Pepe (UNK) 8-4

Match Notes
Nebraska-Kearney 11-10; National ranking #44; Regional ranking #6

Northwest Missouri 18-3; National ranking #19; Regional ranking #1

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,2,5,1,4,6)

Up Next
– Northwest will now await seeding the the NCAA Championship Tournament at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla., starting on May 9.

— Northwest Athletics —