GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The Creighton men’s tennis team fell too North Dakota, 5-2 on Friday night at the Choice Health & Fitness center in Grand Forks, N.D.
The Bluejays fell to 0-3 on the year with the loss, while the Fighting Hawks improved to 6-0 on the season with their first win over the Bluejays in the last eight meetings.
The host Fighting Hawks earned Friday’s double point with identical 6-2 wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions.
Junior Shin Inoue and freshman Zachary Kuo each earned singles victories for Creighton. Inoue claimed a 6-3, 6-4 straight sets win over UND’s Riley Odell at the No. 5 singles spot, while Kuo battled his way to 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 three-set win over Jayho Hong at the No. 6 slot.
North Dakota secured the overall dual win with a trio of three-set victory at the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 singles positions, as well as a straight set win at the No. 1 spot. Graduate transfer Oscar Alvarez won his first set, 6-4, before falling 6-3 in the second and 7-5 in the third.
Sophomore Alejandro Gandini forced a decisive third set at the No. 3 singles spot. The Santiago, Dominican Republic native, secured a 6-3 win in set one, but dropped set two 7-6 (7-2) and set three 7-5).
At the No. 4 singles position, freshman Kirtan Patel got off to a strong start, capturing a 6-3 win in set one. North Dakota’s Nikita Snezhko, however, responded with tough 7-6 (7-3) and 7-6 (10-8) set wins to secure the win for the Fighting Hawks.
“This was an incredible college match that we lost by just a couple of inches,” said head coach Tom Lilly. “We played flat in doubles, which was disappointing, but battled for over three hours in the singles and came up just a tad short against a team that is 6-0 without out top player. It was just an unfortunate finish for us in such a great college match.”
Creighton returns to the court on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. as they take on Gustavus Adolphus in Grand Forks, N.D.
North Dakota 5, Creighton 2
Jan 27, 2023 at Grand Forks, N.D. (Choice Health &Fitness)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Gerhard Sullwald (UND) def. Matthew Lanahan (CU) 6-3, 6-1 |
| 2. Cian McDonnell (UND) def. Oscar Alvarez (CU) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 |
| 3. Edmond Aynedjian (UND) def. Alejandro Gandini (CU) 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 |
| 4. Nikita Snezhko (UND) def. Kirtan Patel (CU) 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (10-8) |
| 5. Shin Inoue (CU) def. Riley Odell (UND) 6-3, 6-4 |
| 6. Zachary Kuo (CU) def. Jayho Hong (UND) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 |
| Match Notes |
| Creighton 0-3 |
| North Dakota 6-0 |
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