PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Jackeline Lopez provided the match-clinching victory, as the Rutgers women's tennis team (11-11, 2-9 B1G) narrowly topped Minnesota (11-11, 4-6 B1G), 4-3, in a four-hour thriller on Sunday at the Livingston Tennis Center for the program's Senior Day.
 
"I'm proud of how our team battled today," said head coach Hilary Ritchie. "It was great to honor our five seniors before the match, then we came out ready to go. Jackie coming up clutch at the end was huge, as well."
 
Doubles
 
The Scarlet Knights clinched the doubles point after securing wins on the first two courts.
 
Tara Chilton and Minchae Kim cruised to a 6-1 win over the Gophers on court two. Yana Gurevich and Mai Nguyen weren't far behind, downing their opponent, 6-2.
 
Singles
 
Gurevich capped off an impressive regular season with a 6-1, 7-5 win to double RU's lead early in the singles round.
 
Minnesota quickly cut into RU's, though, earning a 6-3, 6-3 victory on the sixth court. The Gophers then equalized the dual with a win by the same score on court No. 4.
 
Amira Badawi put the Scarlet Knights back in front, 3-2, with a three-set victory on court No. 3. The senior split the first two sets with Aiva Schmitz, before taking a commanding, 6-2, third-set win.
 
The Gophers stayed alive in the dual, tying the competition with a court-two win.
 
Shortly after Minnesota leveled the match, Lopez worked to a 6-4 second-set win on court No. 5. The junior forced a winner-take-all third set and came up with a clutch 6-4 victory to clinch the match for RU.
 
Results
 
Doubles

1. Yana Gurevich/Mai Nguyen (RUTGERS) def. Sofia Pinto/Mia Liepert (MINN) 6-2
2. Tara Chilton/Minchae Kim (RUTGERS) def. Zeyneb Sarioglan/Emma Belluomini (MINN) 6-1
3. Amira Badawi/Naomi Karki (RUTGERS) vs. Aiva Schmitz/Anali Kocevar (MINN) 3-3, unfinished

Order of finish: 2, 1
 
Singles

1. Yana Gurevich (RUTGERS) def. Mia Liepert (MINN) 6-1, 7-5
2. Anali Kocevar (MINN) def. Tara Chilton (RUTGERS) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
3. Amira Badawi (RUTGERS) def. Aiva Schmitz (MINN) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
4. Emma Belluomini (MINN) def. Mai Nguyen (RUTGERS) 6-3, 6-3
5. Jackeline Lopez (RUTGERS) def. Zeyneb Sarioglan (MINN) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
6. Sofia Pinto (MINN) def. Naomi Karki (RUTGERS) 6-3, 6-3

Order of finish: 1, 6, 4, 3, 2, 5
 
Knights Notes

• Rutgers' win over Minnesota marks the first time the Scarlet Knights have beaten the Gophers in program history, excluding a forfeit win a season ago.
• Gurevich finished the regular season in a tie for a team-high 10 singles wins. The graduate student also leads RU with five B1G victories.
• Lopez recorded her seventh singles victory of the campaign, tied for second-most on the team.
• Badawi earned her first conference singles victory of the season over the Gophers. 

Next Up

The Scarlet Knights will await their fate ahead of the 2024 Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich. Play begins on Wednesday, April 24 and runs through Sunday, April 28.

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