Box Score FULTON, Mo. - No. 8 William Woods (1-0) started its season with a statement win, beating NCAA Division II McKendree University 5-2 in a Sunday matinee matchup at Suzanne Neal Memorial Tennis Complex.
Zinovii Nahirniak and
Noah Burton guided the Owls, with WWU's No. 1 doubles duo winning their singles and doubles contests.
Nahirniak and Burton opened Woods' season by putting their team in front 1-0, beating the Bearcats' Luka Kalenic and Bendix Schroeder 6-2 in No. 1 doubles. After McKendree's
Felix Diedrichs and Mathijs Aalpol won a tight 7-6 No. 2 doubles contest in 45 minutes, the Owls went back, with
Lars Ankerman and
Paulo Lopes Ferreria winning 6-4 over the Bearcats'
Arne-Magnus Knott and Seb Holden in No. 3 doubles.
Holding a 2-1 lead after doubles play, Woods increased its lead to 5-1 after prevailing in the first three singles games. The Owls' Nahirniak won 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 over Kalenic in the one slot,
Duarte Melo 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 against Schroeder in the two and Burton 7-6, 4-6, 6-0 versus Holden in the three.
McKendree cut it to 5-2 Owls, with
Stepan Mach beating WWU's
Jesper Seger 6-1, 6-3 in the four line.
In the tightest match of the day - singles or doubles - the Owls'
Aoi Ooka won 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (took the tiebreaker 11-9) over Diedrichs to put The Woods back up by four points. WWU ended up winning by three, though, with Aalpol beating the Owls' Ankerman.
With a win under its belt, William Woods will hope to carry the momentum into the ITA Central-West Regional Championship, which takes place next Friday to Sunday at Salina Tennis Center in Salina, Kan.
| Type |
Position |
McKendree |
William Woods |
Score |
Winning side |
Order of finish |
| D |
1 |
KALENIC, Luka / SCHROEDER, Bendix (MU) |
NAHIRNIAK, Zinovii / BURTON, Noah (WWU) |
6-2 (0-0) |
2 |
1 |
|
| D |
2 |
DIEDRICHS, Felix / AALPOL, Mathijs (MU) |
MELO, Duarte / SCHORR, Robert (WWU) |
7-6(0) (0-0) |
1 |
3 |
|
| D |
3 |
KNOTT, Arne-Magnus / HOLDEN, Seb (MU) |
ANKERMAN, Lars / LOPES FERREIRA, Paulo (WWU) |
6-4 (0-0) |
2 |
2 |
|
| S |
1 |
KALENIC, Luka (MU) |
NAHIRNIAK, Zinovii (WWU) |
4-6 6-0 6-1 (0-0) |
2 |
2 |
|
| S |
2 |
SCHROEDER, Bendix (MU) |
MELO, Duarte (WWU) |
4-6 7-5 6-3 (0-0) |
2 |
4 |
|
| S |
3 |
HOLDEN, Seb (MU) |
BURTON, Noah (WWU) |
7-5 4-6 6-0 (0-0) |
2 |
3 |
|
| S |
4 |
MACH, Stepan (MU) |
SEGER, Jesper (WWU) |
6-1 6-3 (0-0) |
1 |
1 |
|
| S |
5 |
DIEDRICHS, Felix (MU) |
OOKA, Aoi (WWU) |
4-6 7-5 [11-9](10-9) |
2 |
6 |
|
| S |
6 |
AALPOL, Mathijs (MU) |
ANKERMAN, Lars (WWU) |
6-0 6-4 (0-0) |
1 |
5 |
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McKendree 2 |
William Woods 5 |
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