DENVER – Three-set singles victories by
Juho Kantola and
Maximo Lawlor helped the MSU Denver men's tennis team punch its ticket to the postseason Friday with a 5-2 victory over Colorado Mesa.
The Roadrunners' women's team continued its tuneup for the Pacific West Conference Tournament while beating the Mavericks by an identical 5-2 score.
The MSU Denver men were in an all-or-nothing battle for the eighth and final berth in the PacWest field and took a big first step by cruising to victory in doubles.
In singles, the 54
th-ranked Kantola had to work hard at No. 2 singles, bouncing back from a second-set tiebreaker loss for a 6-1, 6-7 (9), 6-2. At No. 6, Lawlor won the in a grueling 10-point tiebreaker to cement a 6-4, 3-5, 1-0 (13-11) victory.
Alejandro Jimenez (No. 1),
Marco Jalalian (No. 4) also won their singles matches.
The field for the PacWest Tournament will be announced Monday.
In the women's dual, 28
th-ranked
Emily Hafner won 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (2) at No. 1 singles to lead the way.
Lilly Stienemeier (No. 3) and
Courtenay Leonard (No. 5) were also three-set winner.
Due to expected high winds, MSU Denver's women's match against CSU Pueblo, scheduled for Saturday, has been pushed back to Sunday at 1:30 p.m.