ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- ( Men W 5-4) ( Women W 5-4) The No. 39 Northwest Missouri State men's tennis team defeated it's first ranked opponent in three years with a 5-4 victory over No. 34 Southwest Baptist last night at the Noyes Tennis Complex in St. Joseph, Mo. SBU stands No. 1 in the latest ITA/FILA North Central Region rankings, while Northwest sits as No. 3. The women duplicated the score, with Northwest winning 5-4 over the purple Bearcats.

The Northwest men move to 6-3 and 2-0 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play. The Bearcat women improve to 5-4 and 2-1 in the MIAA. The Southwest Baptist men fall to 4-6 and 0-1 in the MIAA, while the women move to 6-5 and 0-2 in MIAA action.

Senior Pablo Acebedo captured his fourth straight win in No. 2 singles with a 7-6, 1-6, 7-6 win over Emilio El Alabi. Junior Jake Saulsbury remained perfect in No. 6 singles (6-0) to provide the deciding point in a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Micah AuBuchon.

Northwest fell behind 2-1 in women's doubles action and used a sweep of the last three singles matches to capture the victory. Sophomores Emily Lindsay and Lina Gomez paired for the first time in No. 3 doubles to provide the lone Northwest win in doubles over Melanie Ferris and Trish Moceo 8-2. Freshman Lisa Pendrak won the final two sets after dropping the first in No. 6 singles to defeat Stephanie Janzekovich 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 and push Northwest to the 5-4 win.

Both Northwest teams will travel to Edwardsville, Ill., for a 2 p.m. match on March 22 with Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

NOTES: The Northwest men last defeated a ranked opponent on March 21, 2004 in a 5-4 win over No. 40 Rockhurst.

For more information, please contact:

Phillip Dowden, Media Relations/Sports Information
sid@nwmissouri.edu | 660.562.1118 | Fax: 660.562.1582

Northwest Athletics
Lamkin Activity Center | 800 University Drive | Maryville, MO 64468