The Gophers men’s tennis team earned a key early-season upset late Saturday night, downing No. 24 Kansas 4-3 in a six-hour dual match in Lawrence, Kan.
Minnesota (3-1) earned the doubles point and claimed wins at No. 3 and No. 6 singles early in the match. But losses at first, second and fourth singles tied the match at three, forcing freshman Tyson Parry into a must-win position at No. 5 singles.
After splitting the first two sets with the Jayhawks’ Ed Dus, Parry won the third set 6-2 to give Minnesota the team victory.
The Gophers compete again next weekend on the road against Iowa.
Women’s tennis
The Gophers women’s tennis team won one match but lost two more close matches over the weekend in Boise, Idaho.
Minnesota defeated Oklahoma State 7-2 but dropped 5-4 decisions to Boise State and Rice.
Nora Sauska was the only Gopher to win all three of her matches. The sophomore improved to 7-0 at No. 1 singles and 16-3 overall.
In both losses, Minnesota split the singles matches but dropped two out of three doubles matches.
Baseball
The Gophers baseball team defeated Nebraska 6-3 in its season-opener Sunday at the Metrodome. Further results were not available at press time.
Minnesota, which finished 30-24 last season (15-12 in the Big Ten) plays Nebraska again today in a doubleheader at the Dome starting at 1 p.m.
After those games, the Gophers won’t be at home again until March 4, when they take on Iowa State.
Women’s hockey
Assistant Gophers men’s athletics director Pat Forciea sent a letter inviting members of the United States women’s Olympic Hockey team to make Mariucci Arena its first stop after returning from competition in Nagano, Japan.

NAGANO, Japan (AP) — The building animosity between the top two women’s Olympic hockey teams spilled off the ice as Canada’s coach accused a U.S. player of making nasty remarks about the dead father of a Canadian player.
U.S. forward Sandra Whyte was seen after Saturday’s game speaking heatedly to Canada’s top scorer, Danielle Goyette, who learned the night before the Olympic opening ceremony that her father had died.
Canadian coach Shannon Miller told television reporters that a U.S. player — she didn’t say which one — had said something about Goyette’s 77-year-old father, who had long been ill with Alzheimer’s disease.
“It was uncalled for. I was standing there. I heard it,” Miller said.
U.S. captain Cammi Granato, who went over to speak with Miller on the ice, said no such remark was made. “Things were misunderstood. It got blown out of proportion,” she said.
Whyte refused to comment after the game, which the United States won 7-4. On Sunday, she denied saying anything about Goyette’s father. She admitted speaking harshly, but wouldn’t reveal what she did say.
“I see men on ice pummeling each other all the time, so this makes no sense to me,” she said. “What was said was in the heat of battle. It happens all the time on the ice.”
In a statement, Goyette said the incident wasn’t worth any more attention as the teams prepare to play for the gold medal on Tuesday.
“It’s time to turn the page and focus on the biggest game in the history of women’s hockey, the Olympic gold-medal game,” Goyette said. “It is not worth going back to what was said during and after the game.”