Northwest tennis sweeps regional openers
May 8—Northwest Missouri State men's tennis put on a furious rally to come back and defeat Washburn 4-3 in the semifinal round of the 2021 NCAA Division II Central Regional on Friday in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Washburn took the early advantage as they took the doubles point on two straight wins from the No. 2 and 1 doubles spots.
In singles action, Washburn's Bradley Eidenmueller started things off with a 6-2, 6-0 victory from the No. 4 spot. Daniel Bird then put the Ichabods up a commanding 3-0 with a win at No. 5 singles.
Then came the Bearcats with a win at No. 2 singles courtesy of Fabien Calloud, who won in three sets 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. No. 6 Agustin Velasco brought Northwest within 3-2 with a 6-3, 6-4 win.
No. 6 Andrea Zamurri rally from down 1-0 to No. 24 Raul-Alin Dicu to win 3-6, 7-6 (7-0), 6-0 at No. 1 singles, tying the match at 3-3.
With the winning point on the line, Franco Oliva and Paul Haase went to three sets at the No. 3 singles spot. Haase won the first set by 7-6 (8-6), but Oliva took the second set by 6-3 to take the match to a third set.
In the third set, Oliva took a swift 3-0 lead and eventually won 6-3, pushing the Bearcats on with a 4-3 win.
The Bearcats will match up against Southern Arkansas in the Central Region championship match at 2 p.m. Saturday in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Northwest women 4, Harding 1
The Northwest women's tennis team rolled to a 4-1 win over Harding in the quarterfinals of the Central Region on Friday in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Northwest handed Harding its first loss in the doubles point for the first time in 15 matches. The No. 3 duo of Angela per Moreno and Vera Brusa won 6-2, and No. 2 Tessa Kwakernaak and Kaylyn Chelborad won 7-5.
No. 1 Vera Alenicheva made quick work to begin single with a 6-1, 6-1 victory, though Harding earned a point at No. 5 singles.
Northwest won via No. 2 Julia Aliseda and No. 6 Brusa for the 4-1 win.
The Bearcats will take on No. 1 seed Central Oklahoma at 9 a.m. Saturday.
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Brandon Zenner can be reached at brandon.zenner@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NPNowZenner.
