FARGO, N.D. – The first game back from spring break delivered a 7-2 victory on Friday night for the Minnesota State University Moorhead tennis team. The Dragons earned their third win of the season against the University of Mary Marauders.
Seven match wins improved the Dragons record to 3-8 on the season and 3-5 against Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponents. The win was the first in nearly a month, the last coming on Feb. 26 in a 8-1 win against the University of Sioux Falls. The No. 1 and No. 2 spots highlighted the night for the Dragons.
Kayla Huether (6-4 No. 1 spot) sparked the night off with a dominant win over the Marauders' Brianna Thomas. Huether allowed only one point in the first set and two in the second to take the match 6-1, 6-2.
Alyse Grelson (2-4 No. 2 spot, 2-2 No. 3 spot) followed her teammate while allowing only three total points as well. The Dragon was able to take down her opponent Megan Bosch with a final of 6-2, 6-1.
The No. 3 spot was started by
Kathryn Neubauer (1-0 No. 3 spot, 2-2 No. 2 spot). She has not started in a match since the team's last win against the Cougars. The time off would not show as Neubauer started strong by not allow a point in the first set. Julia Amundson put up five points for the Marauders in the second to set the final at 6-0, 7-5. Jenna Beth Galstad (2-3 No. 4 spot , 1-4 No. 3 spot) continued the winning streak by taking down Ashley Tuschling, 6-3, 6-1.
The lone singles loss came in the No. 5 spot as Rachel Phelps took
Jaime LaCoursiere (0-5 No. 4 spot, 2-2 No. 5 spot) to extra sets. After suffering a 6-4 loss in the first set, LaCoursiere swept Phelps in the second. The third set was the most evenly matched as Phelps snagged the 6-4, 0-6, 10-8 win.
Kaitlin McNary (2-2 No. 6 spot , 0-5 No. 5 spot) set the Dragons back on track to the win in the final singles matchup. A 2-6 first set loss to Rachel Brown paved the way to an uphill battle for McNary. The Wahpeton, N.D., native fought back to take the next two sets to guarantee the Dragons win, 2-6, 6-3, 10-6.
Although the Dragons secured the team win in the previous matchup, Huether and Grelson (5-5 No. 1 doubles) continued the successful night. The Dragon duo swept Thomas and Amundson, 8-0, for the sixth team win of the night. Galstad and LaCoursiere (0-6 No. 2 doubles) almost earned the seventh win against Bosch and Phelps. MSUM's No. 2 doubles duo ultimately fell, 9-8. Capping the night off the way it started was the final pair of McNary and Kapalczynski (1-5 No. 3 doubles). A 8-3 final over Brown and Tuschling gave the Dragons the 7-2 win on the night.
The Dragons will travel to Minnetonka, Minn., on March 24 to take on Southwest Minnesota State University. Matches will start at 5 p.m. at the Life Time Athletic Oakdale Village Tennis Center.
