MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The University of North Dakota women's tennis team took on some strong competition in its second tournament of the non-championship portion of its season over the weekend, battling at the Gopher Invite in Minneapolis. 

"This was a good point in our fall season to test the team against some extremely high-level opponents from some very experienced teams," said UND head coach Tom Boysen. "Playing multiple matches against players at the level we faced this weekend showed us where we currently are as a team and also gave us a road map of how to get where we want to go this season. As as the case two weekends ago at the Drake Invite, the team finished strong. We played great doubles across the board on Sunday to go 3-0 against some very good teams. We are looking forward to spending the next three weeks preparing for the ITA Regionals in Iowa City."

Taking on opponents from South Dakota, Drake, Minnesota and Gonzaga, the Fighting Hawks battled in a doubles bracket-style competition and round-robin format of singles play over the three-day event. 

FRIDAY DOUBLES 
The opening day of action was highlighted by doubles play, with UND showing its bounce-back ability throughout the action. Placed in the second group, Andrea Jansson and Sapir Sela showed their fight by rebounding from a 6-4 defeat in their opening match with a 6-3 win of their own over Sosnowska/Laursen to finish the first day with a 1-1 mark. 

Nina Zdravkovic and Allie Ochotorena followed suit with a similar play in the fourth group, dropping a tough, 7-5, match in the opener before a 6-3 triumph in the 3-4 playoff to earn the team's second win of the day. 

SATURDAY DOUBLES
Continuing the two-person play into Saturday, it was another strong second-half performance by the duo of Jansson and Sela to polish off another 1-1 day. The pair dropped their opening contest by a 6-2 score before rolling to a 6-1 win over Frampton/Wernli in the third group. 

Zdravkovic and Ochotorena was UND's first pair to appear in a title match, clipping Almiron/Bukina by a 6-2 score in the opening round of the fifth group, but fell, 6-3, in the title match. 

SUNDAY DOUBLES
The final day of doubles action saw a perfect 3-0 mark for the Fighting Hawks, with Sela and Jansson starting it off with a 7-5 victory over Kezuka/Karvouni on the fifth court to finish the weekend with a 3-2 record. 

A run of 7-5 wins continued for the green and white when Zdravkovic and Ochotorena sealed their 3-2 weekend record with a 7-5 triumph against Gaskell/Walczak on the No. 9 court before Nore Heinitz and Charlotte Bowles got into the win column with a 6-4 win over Skobkareva/Girbau. 

ROUND ROBIN SINGLES 
Singles play was formatted in a round-robin style, with the players being split up into 10 groups of four. Ochotorena picked up the first win of the singles action in the eighth group, bouncing back from a 6-4 defeat in the opening set to post a 6-2, 6-0 score in the next two stanzas and finish her group in third with a 1-2 mark. 

Zdravkovic also notched a third-place finish in her group, rolling to a pair of 6-3 victories over Mille Haagensen in the fifth group. Freshman Nore Heinitz added another win over Jyun-Yi Lee by a 6-2, 6-0 score to also place third in group nine.

Fellow rookie Lucia Rizza stole the show in singles play in the tenth group, posting a perfect 3-0 record to finish tied atop the group. After a 6-4, 6-1 win over Yana Gaskell started it off, Rizza battled to a pair of three-set victories to close out her perfect weekend in singles action. In the first three-setter against Maria Frampton, Rizza won the first set, 7-5, before a 6-1 loss in the second pushed the match to three where she rolled to a 6-3 score. In the second, she rallied from a 6-3 loss to grind out a 7-5 triumph and another 6-3 clincher to seal the perfect weekend. 

North Dakota returns to action Oct. 21-24 in Iowa City, Iowa for the Fall ITA Regional.