KEARNEY, Neb. – Minnesota State tennis fell 6-1 in the early morning hours of Sunday to Missouri Western in non-conference action at Ernest Grundy Tennis Center. The Mavericks picked up a pair of wins. At No. 1 doubles, McKenna DeMarce and Julia Gurholt topped Jevrosima Mitic and Alejandra Ramirez Botella 6-2. Then in singles, Alma Vazquez came back to defeat Ella Gates 3-6, 6-1, 10-5 at No. 4.
 
"It was a tough match for us this morning," said head coach Drew Hawthorne. Missouri Western is one of the toughest doubles teams we've played this season. Despite the outcome, we did a good job of getting fired up in singles, creating some strong second sets. Julia (Gurholt) and Alma (Vazquez) did a great job taking their opponents to third sets, coming from behind. Alma crushed the tiebreaker to secure our team's point."
 
The Mavericks (4-2, 3-0 NSIC) return home to host Fort Hays State on Wednesday, March 18 at 10 a.m. Missouri Western (MIAA) improved to 4-2 overall.
 
"We have a busy week of matches coming up after spring break," said Hawthorne. "We'll recover and prepare to come out even stronger in those three upcoming matches."
 
SCORES
Doubles

1. MSU (McKenna DeMarce/Julia Gurholt) def. MWU (Jevrosima Mitic/Alejandra Ramirez Botella) 6-2
2. MWU (Johanna Priedite/Claudia Pastor) def. MSU (Lucie Sliskova/Alma Vazquez)  6-0
3. MWU (Mila Larrieu/Cristina Granero Boj) def. MSU (Amanda Blanco-Epple/Taina Cordeiro) 6-1

Order of finish: 2,3,1
Singles

1. WMU (Johanna Priedite) def. MSU (Julia Gurholt) 6-3, 2-6, 10-6
2. WMU (Cristina Granero Boj) def. MSU (McKenna DeMarce) 6-1, 6-3
3. WMU (Claudia Pastor) def. MSU (Lucie Sliskova) 6-3, 7-6(6)
4. MSU (Alma Vazquez) def. WMU (Ella Gates) 3-6, 6-1, 10-5
5. WMU (Alejandra Ramirez Botella) def. MSU (Amanda Blanco-Epple) 6-4, 6-4
6. WMU (Mila Larrieu) def. MSU (Sutton Julsrud) 6-3, 6-0

Order of finish: n/a