FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - North Texas picked up its second-ever win over a ranked team Saturday when it defeated No. 53 Kansas State 4-3 at the Billingsley Tennis Center.
The Mean Green (3-3) clawed its way out of a huge hole, trailing 3-0 after the first two singles matches.
"We are so proud of the fight and resiliency today from the girls," head coach Sujay Lama said. "Especially after a gut-wrenching loss yesterday to Arkansas and going down 3-0 today. The team has become battle-hardened as a result. Everyone did their part in producing a win against a tough Kansas State team."
Nadia Lee and Franziska Sprinkmeyer were the only UNT doubles duo to capture a victory, as they took down K-State's Marketa Trousilova and Ana Gomez Aleman, 8-4.
Singles play saw 17th-ranked Petra Niedermayerova of KSU take down Valentina Starkova in straight sets, while Karla Bonacic beat Kseniya Bardabush to put the Wildcats on the verge of victory with a 3-0 lead.
UNT began its comeback when senior Irina Paraschiv beat Carli Wischhoff 7-5, 6-3 in No. 4 singles.
Junior transfer Ilona Serchenko kept the match going for the Mean Green, winning 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.
Paula Dinuta was the next Mean Green netter to record a win - tying the score - as she also won a tough match, 7-6, 6-7, 6-0.
The final showdown featured Lee versus Trousilova. After a big first-set win for the North Texas senior, Trousilova came back with a 7-5 win of her own to force the third set. Lee pulled away for the first time in the match and sealed a 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 victory.
"I was really hungry for the win for our team," Lee said. "We've worked hard and I was prepared to give everything to bring home the victory."
It took more than 4 1/2 hours for the match to be decided by Lee's victory.
The Wildcats are the highest-ranked team North Texas has ever beaten.
The Mean Green will return to action at 3 p.m. Wednesday when it travels to Fort Worth for a showdown with No. 44 TCU.
Swimming and diving
Mean Green falls on road to sixth-ranked Aggies
COLLEGE STATION - In its last meet of the regular season, North Texas fell to No. 6 Texas A&M 186-105 on Saturday.
Reigning Sun Belt Diver of the Week Catherine Johnson dove her way to a second-place finish in the 1-meter (270.22) event and was third in the 3-meter (286.58).
In the pool, Rosa Gentile earned second-place finishes in the 100-yard butterfly (55.84) and 200 medley (2:09.60).
Becca Ploetz recorded one of her best times of the season at 53.44 in the 100 freestyle.
UNT ended the day seizing a victory in the 400 freestyle relay (3:37.66).
The Mean Green ended the regular season at 6-4 while the Aggies improved to 5-1.
North Texas now prepares for the Sun Belt Conference Championships, with prelims scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Feb. 22 at the Rockwall ISD Natatorium.
