By Nate Tenopir, Sports Editor
One of the goals for head coach Mike Saniuk and the UNO tennis teams in 2012 was to get a win over a fellow Division I team. As the week began at Western Illinois, that goal was quickly slipping away.
In the final week of the season the women’s team only had two chances left to achieve their goal, while the men had three. But in the final week of the season the two teams would be playing a lot of tennis in a very short amount of time.
Both teams started the week at Western Illinois on Monday, then the men go on to play four more matches in three days while the women play three in three days.
As if getting a D-I win wasn’t hard enough, the schedule provided another hurdle to accomplishing that goal. However, the Mavs removed any doubt and both teams earned their first D-I win at Western Illinois in the first day of four straight days of matches.
The men came into Monday 0-3 against D-I teams, but UNO gave themselves an early chance at victory by winning two of the three doubles matches. The number two team of freshman Connor Larson and sophomore Anthony Forcucci won the two spot 8-3 and freshman Nathan Greteman and senior Ben Williams won the three spot by the same score.
Larson, Williams and Greteman also all won their singles matches to split the singles points 3-3. The single point the Mavs got from doubles turned out to be the winning point and pushed UNO to 4-3 victory, their first ever over a fellow Division I opponent.
Larson won no. 3 singles 6-2, 6-4, Williams won the five spot 6-1, 6-3 and Greteman won the six spot 6-2, 6-1. Sophomore Carlos Ramos Salazar lost the one spot 6-2, 6-3, Forcucci lost the no. 2 spot 6-1, 6-3 and junior Peter Greteman dropped the four spot 6-4, 6-3.
The doubles team of Ramos Salazar and Peter Greteman were the only UNO doubles team to drop their match. The pair was defeated in the top singles spot 8-5.
Against a future Summit League opponent, the women’s team not only got their first win over a fellow D-I team, they dominated the match.
The Mavs swept doubles to get the doubles team point, then won every singles match in straight sets without losing a game. Western Illinois only managed wins in two games in the number one doubles matchup.
Freshmen Alex Tran and Rachel Pierson were the only Mavs to allow any Leathernecks on the scoreboard. But the pair still won the no. 1 doubles spot easily, taking down Ashley Rettger and Jessica Callahan 8-2.
Senior Kelsie Olson and freshman Jacqueline Baude won the doubles two spot 8-0 and seniors Heather Hottman and Caitlin Christy repeated that score in the three spot. All of the Mavs who participated in doubles played in singles with the exception of Pierson.
Lindsay Weideman took Pierson’s spot in singles, winning the three spot 6-0, 6-0. Tran, Olson, Baude, Hottman and Christy all took down their opponents by identical 6-0, 6-0 scores.
