TAHLEQUAH –
Sandra Mari Marti fended off a third set charge by No. 28 Nebraska-Kearney and provided the RiverHawks a match-clinching 4-3 win Sunday.
NSU's win is the second this season over a ranked foe and snapped a seven-match winning streak for the Lopers who drop to 12-4 (3-1 MIAA). The RiverHawks improved to 7-4 overall and are 2-1 in the MIAA.
Marti bounced back from an opening set loss and got a 6-1 win in set two. The sophomore was rolling in her third set and held a 4-1 advantage before dropping four consecutive games. In the meantime,
Andrea Vargas equalized the match at 3-3 on court five with a three-set 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
With the match tied, the team momentum carried over and Marti evened her third set at 5-5 and won her next two games to give the RiverHawks a 4-3 victory.
"A huge win for this team today," said head coach
Tim McLane. "Not only that it's a win against a high-level conference opponent but also someone who has been highly ranked all season."
"We played a really good doubles point and that got us off to a good start. We came out a little flat in the singles but we were able to hang around and started playing better and ended up clinching with two very tight third-set wins. Great effort from this group today."
Tegan Heaton won 6-3 and 6-4 on court six for NSU's first singles point. In doubles, the RiverHawks claimed the point for the third consecutive match with wins on courts one and three.
The RiverHawks return to the road on Friday, facing Northwest Missouri at 11 a.m.
