FARGO, ND - Beginning their final weekend of matches before the NSIC Championships, the University of Mary Tennis team fought back after a slow start against Winona State University for a 4-3 match victory. 

Four strong victories in the singles portion gave the Marauders their fourth straight victory, making them 9-5 overall on the season and 8-2 in the Northern Sun. The Marauders remain firmly in third place in the NSIC standings, two matches ahead of Sioux Falls and St. Cloud State. 

The Warriors gained the early upper hand by taking two of the three doubles matches. Emily Needham and Samantha Purpura performed well together, claiming the Marauders lone doubles win 6-2 for their fourth straight victory as a tandem. 

The Marauders battled back in singles matches onward to a strong finish and the match victory. Emily Needham clinched the first UMary singles victory with an impressive 6-2, 6-0 display over Miranda Daulong in #5 singles. The sophomore from Cheyenne, WY has now won her last three straight singles matches. 

In her first match since winning NSIC Tennis Player of the Week on April 3, Doaa Farouk Mohamed pulled out a 6-2, 6-4 victory in #2 singles. Excluding an unfinished match on March 20, Mohamed has won six straight completed singles matches. 

Ilona Freitag carried the momentum forward, claiming victory 6-2, 6-3 over Clara Thoemke in #4 singles. Saturday marked the ninth victory on the season for Freitag and her fourth straight in singles. 

Playing in #3 singles for the first time this season, Hala Hossam Awad overcame an early 3-4 deficit in set one to Sara Anderson by winning the next three games to win the set. Awad capitalized and rallied to a 6-2 victory in set two to take the match. Awad is now 13-1 in her true freshman year. 

Chloe Chong fell 0-6, 1-6 to Beth Murman in #1 singles. Samantha Purpura fell 3-6, 0-6 to Ally Burger in #6 singles. 

UP NEXT
UMary Tennis takes a four-match winning streak into Sunday Morning against Upper Iowa University. The Marauders and Peacocks will take the court in Fargo at 9 am for the final match before the NSIC Championships on April 21-23. 

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