Men's Tennis

The Gophers men’s and women’s tennis teams both saw Big Ten conference action, with each team ending the weekend with one win and one loss.
On the women’s side, head coach Tyler Thomson’s team opened Big Ten play in February when it soundly defeated Iowa 6-1. After four non-conference games in which Minnesota went 1-3, the Gophers returned to conference action Friday night against Michigan State.
Facing the unranked Spartans, No. 54 Minnesota swept in doubles, and followed that with a strong singles performance, winning five of six matches en route to the 6-1 team win.

As a team hoping to make a deep run in the NCAA Championships, the Gophers men’s tennis team suddenly found itself in a must-win situation this weekend at the Baseline Tennis Center.
After a 5-2 loss to No. 16 Louisville Friday, No. 37 Minnesota rebounded Sunday for a 7-0 win over St. Mary’s (Calif.).
The Gophers (2-3) entered the weekend following losses to a premier program in No. 15 Wake Forest and a conference rival in No. 36 Michigan.
Friday’s match against the Cardinals was an equally tough test, but Minnesota started strong.

At the men’s qualifiers in Oklahoma, a Gophers senior fell one match short of the making the main draw of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American Championships.
Minnesota senior Dino Bilankov advanced to the third round of the qualifying tournament after winning three-set matches in the first and second round.
In the third round Bilankov faced North Carolina’s Brennan Boyajian . After splitting the first two sets, Boyjian pulled it out in the third set, winning 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

The Minnesota men’s tennis team begins its season this Friday with a three day tournament in Iowa.
The Drake Invitational is the first of six fall tournaments for the Gophers, who will send four players to the competition.
The Invitational will allow those players to practice for later events including the Big Ten singles championships, which begins Oct. 30.
“It’s an opportunity for those four guys to really get some practice competing, that’s really what it’s for,” Gophers head coach Geoff Young said.

The Minnesota men's tennis team that left Iowa City on Saturday morning after losing in the Big Ten quarterfinals - now, without question - little resembles the Gophers squad which started its season by dropping nine of its first 10 matches starting with a Feb. 1 encounter with Denver.

up next

NCAA Regionals

what: Women's tennis

when: Time TBA, May 9-10
where: TBD

If the glass slipper fits, this weekend, the Minnesota women's tennis team will likely be dancing its way into the NCAA tournament.

If not, the Gophers will be calling it a season.

As the eighth-seeded Gophers begin the Big Ten tournament at 9 a.m. today in West Lafayette with a first round matchup with a familiar foe ninth-seed Purdue, coach Tyler Thomson's squad fully understands that after a subpar conference regular season, it needs to put together a Cinderella tournament run to qualify for May's NCAA tournament.

The Minnesota women's tennis team followed up a gloomy start to its final regular season weekend with a bright finish.

up next

big ten tournament

what: Men's tennis

when: Time TBA, Thursday-Sunday
where: Iowa City

Minnesota men's tennis coach Geoff Young sees his young team playing its best tennis of the season right now.

And with the Big Ten Tournament just under a week away, that's a good thing.

Winners of three of their last four conference matches, the Gophers play their final two conference matches this weekend when they welcome No. 17-ranked Illinois to the Baseline Tennis Center on Friday at 3 p.m. and Purdue to their homecourt at noon on Sunday.

It was an action-packed and emotionally charged final homestand for the Minnesota women's tennis team this weekend at the Baseline Tennis Center.

The Gophers (13-9, 2-6 Big Ten) snapped a three-match losing streak, got their first glimpse of a NCAA National Championship contender - No. 1 Northwestern - and were able to say hello to an old friend, all in the same weekend.

Minnesota men's tennis coach Geoff Young did not hesitate.

up next

northwestern

what: Men's tennis

when: Noon, Saturday
where: Evanston, Ill.