WINONA, Minn. – Minnesota State opened its spring season with a convincing victory over NSIC opponent Minnesota Crookston 6-1, Saturday afternoon at Winona Tennis Center. It was the first win for the Mavericks and head coach
Drew Hawthorne in his first season at the helm.
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The Mavericks collected the team doubles point with sets at No. 1 and No. 2. McKenna Demarce teamed with
Julia Gurholt to win at the top spot 6-2 over Abril Hernandez and Daniela Rivera.
Lucie Sliskova and
Alma Vazquez also won at No. 2 over Asli Oktay and Ariadna Solis Guals 6-2.
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Gurholt fell at No. 1 singles to Rivera 6-3, 4-6, 10-5. DeMarce was leading by a set at No. 2 and won by retirement. Vazquez got past Nadia Cases Mundet at No. 3 in a third set tiebreaker 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 and Sliskova topped Ariadna Solis Gual at No. 4 in straight sets.
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"Minnesota Crookston made us earn our victory today," Hawthorne said. "Our team did an excellent job of adjusting strategy to come out on top. In doubles, McKenna and Julia started off behind but played more aggressively later in the set to help us secure the point. Despite three close matches that finished in tiebreakers, I was proud of how well we maintained our energy in each match. Our conditioning was evident from start to finish. Lucie and Amanda also put together dominating matches for us. We look forward to bringing today's energy with us tomorrow."
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The Mavericks (1-0, 1-0 NSIC) stays in Winona to play MSU Moorhead on Sunday, February 15 at 1:30 p.m. CT.
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SCORES
Doubles
- MSU (Julia Gurholt/McKenna DeMarce) def. UMC (Daniela Rivera/Abril Hernandez) 6-2
- MSU (Alma Vazquez/Lucie Sliskova) def. UMC (Asli Oktay/Ariadna Solis Guals) 6-2
- UMC (Kavya Singh/Nadia Cases Mundet) def. MSU (Taina Cordeiro/Elizabeth Dabiza) 6-0
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Singles
- UMC (Daniela Rivera) def. MSU (Julia Gurholt) 6-3, 4-6, 10-5
- MSU (McKenna DeMarce) def. UMC (Asli Oktay) 6-4, 4-3 ret.
- MSU (Alma Vazquez) def. UMC (Nadia Cases Mundet) 4-6, 6-4, 10-7
- MSU (Lucie Sliskova) def. UMC (Ariadna Solis Guals) 6-3, 6-2
- MSU (Amanda Blanco-Epple) def. UMC (Abril Hernandez) 6-3, 6-1
- MSU (Taina Cordeiro) def. UMC (Kavya Singh) 6-4, 4-6, 10-5