UND women's tennis claims historic Summit League win
Apr. 21—GRAND FORKS — It wasn't an easy start to the season for Andrea Jansson and Nore Heinitz.
The UND women's tennis players didn't rack up many wins against difficult nonconference opponents like Nebraska, Air Force, Creighton and Gonzaga.
But it didn't stay that way.
Jansson and Heinitz hit their stride in conference play and helped UND qualify for a spot in the Summit League tournament.
And the he Fighting Hawks took advantage, downing Kansas City 4-1 in Friday's semifinals in Tulsa, Okla. to reach the Summit League championship for the first time in program history.
UND will play Denver in Saturday's championship.
The Fighting Hawks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead over the Roos after claiming the doubles point. Heinitz and Jule Schulte defeated Kate Miley and Joana Cardona, 6-0, in the second position of the doubles lineup.
Sapir Sela and Andrea Jansoon clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 win on the No. 1 court.
In singles, North Dakota pushed the lead 2-0 over Kansas City after Heinitz captured a victory over Ana Timofeyeva 6-1, 6-1 on the No. 5 court. The Fighting Hawks made it a 3-0 contest thanks to Nyah Kauders's 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Michela Xibilia. UND's Angela Georgieva later ended the match with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Kansas City's Eva Kresovic for a 4-1 final.
The Hawks came into the tournament with confidence.
"They're pretty motivated," UND coach Tom Boysen said of his women's team. "No UND team, men or women, have advanced to the final."
Jansson finished the regular season with an 11-2 record in her final 13 matches.
The Gothenburg, Sweden, native went 6-1 in singles play in the Summit League and tacked on five doubles victories.
"Everything in her game got better," Boysen said. "Her offense got better. Her outlook on how she reacted to losing a game or a point got better. She's gotten as good as I've ever seen her in the corners. Her choice of shots and her ability to neutralize when running to the corner got 80 percent better during the middle of the season."
After a victory over Omaha's Lillian Tiemeyer on March 24, Heinitz turned her season around, too.
Heinitz went 6-2 overall down the stretch. Her lone singles loss came in a third-set tiebreaker.
Heinitz, of Duluth, closed the regular season with a straight-set victory against Denver's Caroline Driscoll. She became the first Summit League player to earn a singles win against Denver all season.
"Ever since she got that win, she started rolling," Boysen said. "You can tell when she's confident. She's attacking the ball more. She's willing to go for more first serves. She's a very tricky player to play against. A lot of people watch her move and think she's a counter-puncher and plays defense. But she sneaks into the net like 20 times a match. She has one of the best overheads on the team. She has great hands."
Boysen said he was proud of the way Jansson and Heinitz turned things around this season.
"I've done this for 15 years and rarely do you see someone turn around a slump in the middle of the season and have it go that well," he said. "Turning it around and going completely in the other direction is probably what I'm most happy with for them."
UND has had other key contributors, too.
Schulte, a freshman from Germany, has been consistent all season, posting a five-match winning streak in singles.
Kauders, a junior from Great Britain, closed the regular season by taking a set off Summit League player of the year Taylor Melville of Denver.
The UND men's team also qualified for the Summit League tournament after a record-setting season.
The Fighting Hawks won their first 10 duals of the season and head to postseason play with 15 victories, the most in the program's Division-I era.
UND, however, fell 4-0 to Drake, ranked No. 69 nationally, in the Summit League semifinals Friday in Tulsa.
Top-seeded Denver, also nationally ranked, defeated Omaha 4-3 in the other semifinal. The Mavericks have cracked the national rankings this year, too.
"I've talked to other coaches who have told me they haven't seen a year where six teams in the Summit League were combined this good," Boysen said. "I haven't been here long, but I can look up the rankings and I don't think there's been a year where six teams added up like this. So, for us to have our best season ever, break a lot of records, it's been great."
The Fighting Hawks were led by all-Summit League performer Gerhard Sullwald and all-conference honorable mention selections Edmond Aynedjian and Cian McDonnell.
Sullwald started the season by winning 15-straight singles matches. He finished 17-4 in singles and won 15 doubles matches, playing with Nikita Snezhko at No. 1.
Aynedjian won 15 singles matches this season, tying Snezhko for second on the team in that category. McDonnell and Riley Odell also finished with double-digit singles win totals at 12.
"There's a lot of senior leadership," Boysen said. "They've done a great job this year. They've bought into everything."
In Tulsa, Okla., Friday
Men's semifinals
Denver 4, Omaha 3
Drake 4, North Dakota 0
Women's semifinals
Denver 4, Omaha 0
UND 4, Kansas City 1
Saturday's championships
Women: North Dakota vs. Denver 2 p.m.
Men: Drake vs. Denver, 10 a.m.
