After dropping two straight seven set matches on the road, the Wichita State men’s tennis team secured a 7-0 sweep over Omaha, to open up the home outdoor season.

Zach Grueber and Orel Ovil picked up the first doubles win at court three, but the pairing of Alex Richards and Kristof Minarik lost for the first time since Jan. 29 against Tulsa. Nicolas Acevedo and Jackie Lin secured the doubles point, with a 7-6 tiebreaking win. 

Richards kept the momentum going in singles with a 6-2, 6-2 win at court four, and Lin and Grueber followed with their own straight-sets victories at five and six to secure the win.

“We were challenged,” Head Coach Danny Bryan said. “Omaha’s got a good team. We won a lot of close matches, which hopefully gives the guys some confidence.”

Minarik came from behind to win in three sets, despite dealing with an upper arm injury throughout. Minarik served underhand in the final set, and delivered a 7-5 win, helping to build the Shocker lead.

“It was a great effort,” Bryan said. “The guy’s tough. He’s only been here three months, but I’m not that surprised he’s already proven he’s someone we can count on to give us everything he’s got. It was really impressive to find a way to win having to serve like that.”

Acevedo battled back after dropping the first set and taking the second set to a tiebreaker. Acevedo used that momentum to coast to a third set win, 6-2. The Chile native picked up his first win at No.1 singles since Feb. 12 against Nebraska.

“It was tough,” Acevedo said. “The guy’s game style was random, he was slapping the ball all the time, so it was just trying to touch every ball. It was a good feeling for sure.” 

Orel Ovil completed the sweep at court three with a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 win. 

The Shockers head to Texas for a Texas Tech dual Saturday at 11 a.m. and then at UT Arlington Sunday at 11 a.m.

“We just dropped two matches but it’s going to be good,” Acevedo said. “We have a good feeling about the team’s we’re going to play against.”