DENTON — North Texas tennis concluded its 2021 fall schedule with its best performance at the Mean Green Invite Sunday afternoon.
The Mean Green went 5-1 in singles and 2-1 in doubles on Sunday versus all UT Arlington opponents. In total North Texas went 20-7 overall over the three-day invite and an impressive 14-4 in singles. At the Mean Green Invite, UNT was led by senior Maria Ponomareva who went a perfect 6-0 over the three days.
“It was a great way to finish the fall,” Ponomareva said after Sunday’s performance. “It was incredibly nice to see everyone competing at their best and being on the same page. I’m very proud of everyone on this team. I’m looking forward to competing and getting better in the spring.”
Together, UNT brought positivity and togetherness that led to its great success on Sunday and over the three days overall.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better end to the fall season,” said assistant coach Rodrigo de Almeida. “We saw everything come together both on and off the courts, which showed that all the hard work that we are all putting in is paying off. Having close to 200 fans come to support our team was very special and certainly enhanced the experience of our student-athletes. We built huge momentum to go into the spring season with a lot of confidence. After a few days off for recovery we will enter our last three weeks of practice this semester and will be sure to make each hour count.”
SUNDAY RESULTS
Doubles
Devier/Ponomareva (UNT) def. Reinersten/Horiguchi (UTA); 8-1
Oyama/ Vehvilainen (UNT) def. Pons/ Gorinsek (UTA); 8-5
Chileno/ Jimenez (UTA) def. Zhou/Kalava (UNT); 8-4
Singles
Oyama (UNT) def. Gorinsek (UTA); 6-4, 6-0
Vehvilainen (UNT) def. Horiguchi (UTA); 6-4, 6-0
Ponomareva (UNT) def. Jimenez (UTA); 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6)
Pons (UTA) def. Kalava (UNT); 6-4, 7-5
Devier (UNT) def. Reinertsen (UTA); 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
Zhou (UNT) def. Chileno (UTA); 3-6, 6-4, 6-0