University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Northern Illinois
Gophers Show Depth Winning Twice
1/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
The No. 60 ranked University of Minnesota Gophers showed their depth taking two 7-0 victories over Northern Illinois and North Dakota with two very different lineups to start the dual match season.
"I was just really wanting to get everybody matches," Coach Chuck Merzbacher said. "Our next match against Wichita State is going to be a really big one. Our goal was to get ourselves ready to play."
The Gophers did just that this afternoon. They started doubles with a victory from Paula Rincon-Otero and Annemarie Emme who finished with a 6-1 win over NIU's Adey Osabuohien and Cristina Alvarez. Soon after Jessika Mozia and Caitlyn Merzbacher won their match against Abigail Dekkinga and Evelyn Youel with a score of 6-1, moving their doubles record for the 2015-2016 season from 5-1 up to 6-1. Caroline Ryba and Julia Courter finished their match by defeating Michelle Erasmus and Meghan Montgomerie 6-2.
The Gophers remained undefeated throughout the singles matches. Mehvish Safdar was the first to finish, quickly defeating NIU's Montgomerie (6-0, 6-0).
"She is the sophomore sensation. She has learned a lot and has a lot of goals," Merzbacher said of Safdar's strong day. "I am pleased with everybody. They used their court time well getting ready in practice."
Shortly after, Mozia won her match against Youel (6-2, 6-1).
Courter won her match against Alvarez (6-3, 6-3), and after a long back and forth volley with the UND's Erasmus, Rincon-Otero also pulled out a win (6-2) (6-4).
Caroline Ryba drew the longest and toughest match against Adey Osabuohien. After losing her first match and winning the second, Ryba came out and swiftly defeated Osabuohien in the tiebreak, pulling out another win for the Gophers (4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (0)).
Minnesota changed up much of their lineup but stuck with Merzbacher and Mozia in doubles against UND. They were the first to finish defeating UND's Aliza Deming and Courtney Brackin 6-1 and now have a 7-1 record together. Shortly after Rincon-Otero and Vargas Gomez pulled out a win with a 6-1 score against Faith Lee and Preethi Kasilingam.
Though the Gophers already had the doubles match point secured Emme and Safdar battled a tough match against Lacey Sprinkel and Mimi Yunker. The duo came back in the match to send it into a tiebreak, but ultimately fell 7-6 (4).
The Maroon and Gold went undefeated in singles matches against UND with Merzbacher kicking things off topping Brackin (6-0, 6-0).
Emme moved into the No. 2 spot against UND and came out with with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Lee. Merzbacher said he was impressed with the way his freshmen came out and played in their collegiate dual match action.
"It added a bit more pressure but I tried to just treat it as another match and not overthink it," Emme said on playing the No. 2 spot. "Everyone did awesome and I am just excited for the rest of the season."
Just seconds later Maja Vujic took a victory in the No. 5 spot over Deming (6-2,6-0) followed by a Vargas Gomez win in the No. 4 spot giving them each eight singles victories this year.
Courter moved into the No. 1 spot and pulled out a (6-2, 6-0) win over Sprinkel while Safdar finished the day with a (6-1,6-2) win over Yunker moments later to give Minnesota the 7-0 win.
Looking Ahead
Minnesota will head to the ITA Kickoff next weekend taking on some of the top teams in the nation. At 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 23, they will take on Wichita State and depending on the outcomes will play either Texas A & M or South Alabama the next day.
Milestone Watch
Merzbacher edges even closer to the 400 career win mark after today's two wins put him at 396 in his career.
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First Match: No. 60 Minnesota 7 def. Northern Illinois 0
Singles competition
1. Caroline Ryba (MINN) def. Adey Osabuohien (NIU) 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (0)
2. Julia Courter (MINN) def. Cristina Alvarez (NIU) 6-3, 6-3
3. Paula Rincon-Otero (MINN) def. Michelle Erasmus (NIU) 6-2, 6-4
4. Annemarie Emme (MINN) def. Abigail Dekkinga (NIU) 6-2, 7-6 (4)
5. Jessika Mozia def. Evelyn Youel (NIU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Mehvish Safdar (Minn) def. Meghan Montgomerie (NIU) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition
1.Paula Rincon-Otero/Annemarie Emme (MINN) def. Adey Osabuohien/Cristina Alvarez (NIU) 6-1
2.Jessika Mozia/Caitlyn Merzbacher (MINN) def. Abigail Dekkinga/Evelyn Youel (NIU) 6-1
3.Caroline Ryba/Julia Courter (MINN) def. Michelle Erasmus/ Meghan Montgomerie (NIU) 6-2
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2,3) Singles (6,5,2,4,3,1)
Second Match: No. 60 Minnesota 7, def. North Dakota 0
Singles competition
1. Julia Courter (MINN) def. Lacey Sprinkel (UND) 6-2, 6-0
2. Annemarie Emme (MINN) def. Faith Lee (UND) 6-0, 6-1
3. Mehvish Safdar (MINN) def. Mimi Yunker (UND) 6-1, 6-2
4. Camila Vargas Gomez (MINN) def. Preethi Kasilingam (UND) 6-1, 6-0
5. Maja Vujic (MINN) def. Aliza Deming (UND) 6-2, 6-0
6. Caitlyn Merzbacher (MINN) def. Courtney Brackin (UND) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Lacey Sprinkel/Mimi Yunker (UND) def. Annemarie Emme/Mehvish Safdar (MINN) 7-6 (4)
2. Paula Rincon-Otero/Camila Vargas Gomez (MINN) def. Faith Lee/ Preethi Kasilingam (UND) 6-1
3. Caitlyn Merzbacher/Jessika Mozia (MINN) def. Aliza Deming/Courtney Brackin (UND) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1) Singles (6,2,5,4,1,3)
Players Mentioned
