Vykydalova Decides Match For North Texas
North Texas tennis bounced back after yesterdays lose defeating No. 41 Minnesota in dramatic fashion 4-3.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (1/27/13) - North Texas tennis bounced back after yesterday's loss defeating No. 41 Minnesota in dramatic fashion 4-3.

North Texas took an early advantage after winning the doubles point. Sophomore duo Kseniya Bardabush and Franziska Sprinkmeyer defeated Brichacova and Pintusava 8-3 in the No. 1 doubles slot. Dané Joubert and Ilona Serchenko gave the point to the Mean Green defeating Mozia and Umanets 8-5 in the No. 3 doubles slot.

"This is a big win for us and it did not come easy," head coach Sujay Lama said. "You have to give Minnesota a lot of credit for fighting so hard after we had won the doubles point. The conditions were tough with the wind and we had to find a way. It was not always pretty but we were willing to suffer just a little bit more."

Minnesota and North Texas fought back-and-forth for the match clinching four points. Palen defeated Joubert in straight sets 6-1; 6-2 in the No. 6 singles slot to tie up the match before Valentina Starkova defeated Umanets 6-2; 6-3 in the singles No. 3 slot to give North Texas a 2-1 lead.

Bardabush defeated Pintusava 6-4; 6-3 in the No. 1 singles slot to bring the lead to 3-1 before Minnesota made its comeback. Lambert defeated Sprinkmeyer 6-2; 6-3 in the No. 4 singles slot then Mozia defeated Serchenko 7-6(8); 7-6(2) in the No. 5 singles slot.

"Having a senior for the deciding match was the big difference," Sujay added. "Bara has worked extremely hard on her fitness and it paid off today. She was fresher at the end and was able to play aggressively at the end."

The final point rested on Barbora Vykydalova's No. 2 singles slot match. Vykydalova battled back to defeat Tereza Brichacova 4-6; 6-4; 6-4.

"I felt like everything went wrong in my match," Vykydalova said after her match. "I had to deal with adversity but I just pushed through. As a captain and leader, I fought hard for our team because I wanted to show them how special of a group we are and what we are capable of doing."

"We learned a lot about ourselves this weekend and grew as a team," Lama added. "The great thing about this team is they are focused on improving and love to compete."

The Mean Green returns to action this weekend in the home opener against Old Dominion on Saturday at 12 p.m. and Lamar on Sunday at 11 a.m.

No. 54 North Texas 4, No. 41 Minnesota 3

ITA Kick-Off Weekend (Consolation)

January 27, 2013

George P. Mitchell Tennis Center

College Station, Texas

Singles

1. Kseniya Bardabush (UNT) def. Natallia Pintusava (UM), 6-4, 6-3

2. Barbora Vykydalova (UNT) def. Tereza Brichacova (UM), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4

3. Valentina Starkova (UNT) def. Yuliana Umanets (UM), 6-2, 6-3

4. Aria Lambert (UM) def. Franziska Sprinkmeyer (UNT), 6-2, 6-3

5. Jessika Mozia (UM) def. Ilona Serchenko (UNT), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (2)