Warriors Begin Conference Play with Sweeps of Mount Marty

FREMONT, Neb. – With high winds and cool temperatures, Midland University moved its conference duals against Mount Marty University indoors on Friday afternoon. The Warriors women and men didn't give up a team point as they swept the Lancers in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) opener for Midland. The Warriors' teams begin their conference title defense with a win as they move to 1-0. The women's overall mark jumps to 8-2 overall and the men's record improves to 8-7 on the season.

WOMEN: Midland 7, Mount Marty 0

No. 1s Ivett Castaneda and Lanie Fanton won over Tashlynne Badger and Kayla Marsh 6-2 while Kristina Khmelevskaia and Ari Lumanog at No. 2s blanked Alessandro Lopez and Madelyn Heckenlaible 6-0 in their doubles set. Mount Marty lost by default in the No. 3s slot as just four players were competing on the day. 

In singles, No. 1 Lumanog made quick work of Badger (6-2, 6-1) while Graziela Dallagnol defeated Marsh at No. 2 (6-0, 6-2) quickly in her match. No. 3 Grace Felder and No. 4 Lainie Fanton had no trouble with Heckenlaible and Lopez, taking victories over both without yielding a point (6-0, 6-0). Midland won by default at No. 5 and 6. 

MEN: Midland 7, Mount Marty 0

In doubles play, No. 3s Nunzio Thiel and Ryosei Masuda won six straight games in their doubles set giving up nothing to Keaton List and Marcos Moreno. No. 2s Luca Struffi and Tycho Janssen defeated Daniel Anderico and Ignacio Gomez 6-1 to seal the doubles point, while the Lancers were able to take a closely contested point at No. 1s.

No. 3 Masuda finished his opponent Moreno, giving up only one game to the Lancer (6-1, 6-0() Thiel at No. 2, dominated with his serve, defeating Anderico (6-0, 6-0).

Benjamin Starman at No. 1s, had a challenging match against Heinrich Lindeque but won in conquering fashion (6-2, 6-4). No. 4 Struffi defeated List (6-2, 6-1), taking the fifth point of the contest.

No. 5 Nathen Bitzer won over Zach Gonsor (6-1, 6-1) while No. 5 Janssen took the final match (6-1, 6-3) against Gomez, completing the shutout.

Midland men (8-7) will face off against Nebraska Wesleyan (0-2) in a quick turnaround on Sunday as the teams will play indoors at the Fremont YMCA. The time for the match is set for 11:00 a.m. The women (8-2, 1-0 GPAC) will continue conference play at College of Saint Mary (5-2, 1-0 GPAC) on Monday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. at the Genesis Health Club in Omaha, Nebraska.