May 3, 2007
Both Northwest Squads Advance to Second Round of NCAA North Central Regional Tournament
MARYVILLE – (Men W 5-1 vs. St. Cloud State) (Women W 5-2 vs. North Dakota) Sophomore Daniel Usieto provided the fifth and winning point in his second tiebreaker match of the evening to push the No. 32 Northwest Missouri State men's tennis team to a 5-1 victory over St. Cloud (Minn.) State at the St. Joseph Tennis & Swim Club today. The women advanced to the second round with a 5-2 victory over North Dakota in Topeka, Kan., today.The men improve to 14-6 overall and face No. 3 seed Southwest Baptist at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 4 at the Frank Grube Courts on the Northwest campus. The women move to 14-7 and play No. 1 seed Washburn at 12 noon on Friday.
The men started the match in Maryville, winning at No. 1 doubles with senior Chris Smith and junior Jake Saulsbury by a 8-4 margin over Wojciech Batorski and Mike Master. The other two doubles matches were suspended in mid-play due to rain, and the match was eventually moved to the St. Joseph Tennis & Swim Club. After play restarted, Northwest took No. 3 doubles 8-5 with junior Lucas Ariboni and freshman Felipe Gennari. Usieto and senior Pablo Acebedo dropped No. 2 doubles to Tom Ronning and Joey Jachymowski 8-5.
Acebedo was the first to finish singles play, winning 6-0, 6-1 over Master to improve to 11-3 at No. 2 singles this season. Smith also won No. 3 singles in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 over Jackymowski. Usieto needed tiebreakers in both of his sets at the No. 1 position, and pulled the victory in a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3) win over Batorski. Two other singles matches were unfinished in their second sets, with Gennari leading Lukens 6-3, 4-2 at No. 4 singles and Ariboni ahead of Ronning 6-2, 5-1.
The women fell behind 2-1 after doubles action, with junior Carolina Amaral and freshman Lisa Pendrak winning No. 1 doubles 8-5 over sisters Emily Callison and Katie Callison.
The Bearcats came back to win the four singles matches played to completion, all in straight sets. Sophomore Emily Lindsay defeated Emily Callison 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 singles to tie the team scores at 2-2. Amaral put the Bearcats ahead with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles over Katie Callison, and Pendrak brought Northwest within one point of the win with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Katie Wessman at the No. 6 spot. Sophomore Lina Gomez recorded the fifth Bearcat point in a 7-5, 6-0 win over Lindsey Folkert.
Winners of the North Central Regional finals tomorrow will advance to the NCAA National Championships "Round of 16" at Altamonte Springs, Fla., on May 9-12. The men's winner will play the winner of California-San Diego/Sonoma State while the women's winner will play the Hawaii-Pacific/California-San Diego winner.
Men's Notes:
- Bearcats improve to 10-6 all-time in the NCAA Regionals (since 1983).
- Northwest is now 10-9 in the NCAA postseason (since 1983).
- Bearcats improve to 7-3 all-time in NCAA Regional First Round (since 1983).
- The win in the first round is the fourth-straight win in the first round of the NCAA Regional Tournament.
- Northwest has won four of the last five meets with St. Cloud State, leading the overall series with a 5-3 mark.
- This was the first meeting between Northwest and St. Cloud State in the NCAA postseason.
- Saulsbury and Smith carry a four-match winning streak at No. 1 doubles, allowing no more than five points in those four matches.
Against Southwest Baptist:
* Northwest defeated the purple Bearcats 5-4 earlier this season on March 20.
* That win was the first against SBU since 2002 (7 match streak) and the first against a ranked opponent since 2004.
* Northwest is 8-21 all-time against SBU, but 1-0 against the purple Bearcats in the NCAA postseason (W, 4-1 in 1995 regional second round).
Women's Notes:
- Northwest improves to 14-7 all-time in the NCAA Regionals.
- Bearcats are now 17-12 in the NCAA postseason.
- Bearcats are now 9-4 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Regional tournament.
- The win marked the sixth straight first-round NCAA Regional victory.
- Northwest is now 3-1 against North Dakota all-time and 2-0 when playing the Fighting Sioux in the postseason.
- Sophomore Jordan Lipira is currently on an eight-match winning streak at No. 5 singles.
- Northwest is aiming for its fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA National Championships.
Against Washburn:
* The Bearcats lost 5-4 against the Lady Blues in the last match of the regular season on April 19.
* Northwest is 12-9 all-time against Washburn and 1-0 in the NCAA postseason (W 5-1 in 2003 regional second round).
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