OWATONNA, Minn. – MSU Moorhead tennis collected its first NSIC match victory of the season on Sunday afternoon in a 4-3 affair with Winona State. The Dragons claimed the doubles point as well as three singles matches. 

For MSUM, it is their first match win over the Warriors since February 20, 2020. 

"Super proud of how everyone stepped up with Katryna [Hansen] being injured," said MSUM head coach Alexis Konecne. "Mimi [Gu] had a lot of pressure being the deciding match and she handled it beautifully. Go Dragons!"
 
In doubles play, MSUM would command the number one and two spots as Luzmary Diaz Castillo and Shaelyn Johnson would earn their second win of the weekend in a 6-2 decision. The duo moved to 3-0 on the season, defeating Winona State's Sara Anderson and Lainy Ristau. The tandem of Madison Bell and Tiannah Gu would handle business at the number two spot, beating Halle Rosentreter and Clara Thoemke, 6-2. With the victory, MSUM would claim the doubles point to lead 1-0 on the team scoreboard. 

Castillo would control her number one singles match as she would move to 2-1 in singles play, defeating Anderson in straight sets (6-1, 6-1). Shaelyn Johnson would grab another team point for MSUM at number two singles, winning in straight sets. It did not come easy for Johnson as she would take the first set 6-2 before battling into a tiebreaker with Ristau in set two. Eventually, Johnson would win the tiebreak 7-4 to win the second set 7-6. 

Tiannah Gu would take the deciding singles match in the number three spot. Gu would drop the first set to Rosentreter 6-1 before rallying back into contention in set number two. The sophomore would score a 7-5 win to even the match at a set apiece. In the deciding set, Gu again worked towards a grueling 7-5 victory to claim a win. For Gu, the singles victory also capped a team win for the Dragons. 
 
Dragons 4, Warriors 3
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Luzmary Diaz Castillo/Shaelyn Johnson def. Sara Anderson/Lainy Ristau, 6-2
No. 2 – Tiannah Gu/Madison Bell def. Halle Rosentreter/Clara Thoemke, 6-2
No. 3 – Elysia Beynon/Maddie Moe def. Claire Nemmers/Lakia Manska, 6-0
 
Singles
No. 1 – Luzmary Diaz Castillo def. Sara Anderson, 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 – Shaelyn Johnson def. Lainy Ristau, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 3 – Tiannah Gu def. Halle Rosentreter, 1-6, 7-5, 7-5
No. 4 – Clara Thoemke def. Madison Bell, 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 – Elysia Beynon def. Claire Nemmers, 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 – Ally Burger def. Izabela Flores, 6-0, 6-0
 
Up Next
 
MSUM is back on the road next weekend for a test against the University of Mary on February 24. Action begins at 1 p.m. that afternoon.