April 25, 2008

Tennis Teams in RMAC Tourney Finals

Men in Finals for 5th Straight Year; Women 1st Trip

       Kearney, Neb. – Junior Callie Erickson and freshman Marcelle Strydom rallied from a 7-4 deficit at No. 2 doubles to help the Nebraska-Kearney women's tennis team stun top-seeded Montana State-Billings, 5-1, Saturday evening in the RMAC Tournament semifinals.

      Due to weather, the match was moved inside to the Buffalo County Fairgrounds.

      The fourth-seeded UNK women (12-10) advance to tomorrow's championship match vs. second-seed Mesa State. The Mavericks, defending league champs, blanked sixth-seed Western New Mexico, 5-0, this morning at Harmon Park.

      Weather permitting on Sunday, UNK and Mesa will start at 10:00 a.m. at Harmon.

      This is the Lopers' first-ever trip to the RMAC finals. Five previous UNK squads have gotten to the semifinals, only to lose each time.

      On the men's side, the top-seeded Lopers (14-4) blanked fourth-seeded Mesa State, 5-0, with the second-seeded Metro State Roadrunners doing the same to third-seed Western New Mexico.

      The Loper and Metro men, meeting for the third straight year in the finals, will play directly after the women's title match.

      Back on the women's side, the No. 1 doubles team of sophomores Mary Outhwaite (W. Australia) and Kristen Messbarger (Kearney Catholic) managed a narrow 8-6 win.

      Battling a shoulder ailment, Messbarger then retired at No. 2 singles after dropping the first set.

      Erickson (Fremont) and Strydom (Holdrege) -- who earned 1^st-team All-RMAC honors at No. 2 doubles this year -- scored the last five points to secure an unlikely win. 

      In the third spot, Hastings senior Jenna Eichman and Bellevue senior McKenna Irwin picked up an 8-4 win to give UNK a 3-0 lead.

      Outhwiate, who spent her freshman year at the University of Memphis, beat RMAC Player of the Year Heidi Lehman at No. 1 singles (7-6,6-2) to give the Lopers a 4-1 advantage.

      The last four singles matches were then played simultaneously and Strydom managed a 6-3, 6-3 win over Marta Borges, who earned 2^nd-team All-RMAC honors this spring.

      Eichman (No. 5/6-1, 4-1) and Irwin (No.4/4-2) were winning their matches when the dual ended.

      In the men's dual, UNK was looking for some revenge as Mesa beat the Lopers, 5-4, during the regular season. There would be no repeat of that as Kearney jumped out to a 3-0 lead after doubles.

      The No. 2 team of sophomore Drew Mercier (Omaha Westside) and freshman Stefan Voigt (Red Wing, Minn.) won by a 9-7 score against a Mesa pair the earned 2^nd-team All-RMAC honors this year.

      Mercier and William Jacome (Miami, Fla.) then dominated their Maverick opponents at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to secure another finals trip.