Gophers Drop Thrilling Final Regular Season Match to Rutgers

Upcoming Events

Schedule

No upcoming events at this time

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The University of Minnesota tennis program fell 4-3 to Rutgers University on Sunday. This marks the end of the 2024 regular season for the Big Ten conference. The Gophers will now prepare for the postseason, which begins next week.

The 2024 regular season saw the Maroon and Gold bounce back from the program's 5-17 overall and 0-11 conference records in 2023. Last season, injuries forced the team to forfeit their final five matches and miss an opportunity to compete in the postseason. In 2024, under first-year head coach Lois Arterberry, the Gophers notched an 11-12 overall record and a 4-7 conference record and are set to compete in the Big Ten Tournament.

Key Match Moments
Rutgers secured the doubles point to kick off the match. The Gophers' No. 2 pair Emma Belluomini and Zeyneb Sarioglan fell in a 6-1 match to Tara Chilton and Minchae Kim. The round was clinched by the Scarlet Knights in the No. 1 spot when Yana Gurevich and Mai Nguyen defeated Sofia Pinto and Mia Liepert 6-2. Aiva Schmitz and Anali Kocevar's 3-3 match at No. 3 was left unfinished.

The Gophers fought hard in a back-and-forth singles round, but ultimately came up short. Rutgers began the round by adding to their lead, as Yana Gurevich defeated Mia Liepert 6-1, 7-5 at No. 1. Minnesota got on the board when No. 6 Sofia Pinto took down Naomi Karki 6-3, 6-3. The Gophers then evened the overall score after No. 4 Emma Belluomini won 6-3, 6-3 against Mai Nguyen. Rutgers pulled back ahead when Amira Badawi defeated Minnesota's No. 3 Aiva Schmitz, but then No. 2 Anali Kocevar brought the match back even with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Tara Chilton. The overall match came down to the No. 5 spot, which itself came down to the third set. Gopher captain Zeyneb Sarioglan came back from being down 3 in the final set, but was ultimately defeated by Jackeline Lopez 6-4, which gave Rutgers the overall victory on the day.

Results
Doubles
1. Yana Gurevich/Mai Nguyen (RUTGERS) def. Sofia Pinto/Mia Liepert (MINN) 6-2.
2. Tara Chilton/Minchae Kim (RUTGERS) def. Zeyneb Sarioglan/Emma Belluomini (MINN) 6-1.
3. Amira Badawi/Naomi Karki (RUTGERS) vs. Aiva Schmitz/Anali Kocevar (MINN) 3-3, unfinished.

Singles
1. Yana Gurevich (RUTGERS) def. Mia Liepert (MINN) 6-1, 7-5.
2. Anali Kocevar (MINN) def. Tara Chilton (RUTGERS) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
3. Amira Badawi (RUTGERS) def. Aiva Schmitz (MINN) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
4. Emma Belluomini (MINN) def. Mai Nguyen (RUTGERS) 6-3, 6-3.
5. Jackeline Lopez (RUTGERS) def. Zeyneb Sarioglan (MINN) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
6. Sofia Pinto (MINN) def. Naomi Karki (RUTGERS) 6-3, 6-3.

Order of Finish
Doubles: 2, 1
Singles: 1, 6, 4, 3, 2, 5

Next Up
Next week, the Gophers will begin postseason play as they head to Ann Arbor, Mich. for the Big Ten Tournament. Matches will take place from Apr. 24-28. Information regarding matchups, schedule, and streaming will be announced shortly.

Upcoming Events

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Emma Belluomini

Anali Kocevar

Mia Liepert

Sofia Pinto

Zeyneb Sarioglan

Aiva Schmitz