Both of the Gophers’ tennis programs had two duals to play over the weekend, with the men’s team winning two and the women’s team losing two.

The men’s team stayed in Minneapolis over the weekend and walked away with two victories against Purdue and Indiana at the Baseline Tennis Center. The two wins this weekend were the first for the men since March 10. Over that stretch, they lost four straight matches.

“I was proud of my guys [because] they stayed aggressive and kept going for their shots,” head coach Geoff Young told Gopher Sports.

Even though senior Justyn Levin and sophomore Vlad Lobak were held out of the Gophers’ lineup due to an injury and illness, respectively, the reserves stepped up in their absences, especially freshman Sebastian Vile.

Against the Boilermakers on Friday, Vile stepped into the lineup in both in the No. 3 doubles duo and No. 6 singles, winning both of his matches. 

“[It] felt really good to get on the court today,” Vile told Gopher Sports. “It’s my job as the No. 7 guy — just got to be ready to step up and produce for the team.”

In singles, he won in a two-set battle 7-6 and 6-2. In doubles, he paired up with senior Josip Krstanovic to secure the double points for the Gophers, winning 6-3.

Minnesota dominated from that point. They dropped only one point in the singles competition, topping Purdue 6-1.

On Sunday, the team took Friday’s momentum and used it against Indiana to get a victory in similar fashion. This time Minnesota won 5-2.

“It was a great match against a really good team,” Young told Gopher Sports.

Women’s team drops two matches

The women’s tennis team dropped two matches against Penn State and No. 21 Ohio State on the road through the weekend.

On Friday, the Gophers fell to Penn State 5-2, and they lost by the same score to the ranked Buckeyes on Sunday.

“We’ve been on the road a lot, and it’s never easy playing on the road,” said head coach Catrina Thompson. “[On the road] you still have to get the results and get the work done, so it’s a disappointing weekend for us.”

Luckily, Thompson seemed optimistic about her team’s upcoming matches, as the Gophers close out the season at home for their final five matches. 

“We feel really confident at home, and I think we play some of our best tennis at Baseline,” Thompson said. 

Although Minnesota didn’t get the result it wanted, there were bright spots along the way, according to Thompson.

“[On Sunday,] River [Hart] did a good job in her match getting us on the board and then Tina [Kreinis] did a good job closing out her match,” Thompson said.

Hart, a sophomore, easily won her singles match at the No. 6 spot 6-3 and 6-3. Kreinis has been high in the Gophers’ lineup all season at the No. 1 spot. In the No. 2 singles spot on Sunday, she pulled an upset over nationally ranked No. 71 Kolie Allen of Ohio State.

“It was good to see [Kreinis] confidence-wise get a win,” Thompson said.

Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams return to action next Friday.