Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska-Kearney tennis teams won a series of close matches to sweep Southeastern Oklahoma State, 6-3 (men) and 5-4 (women), Saturday afternoon in Durant, Okla.
 
The 27th-ranked Loper men (16-2) bounce back from a loss while the UNK women (17-3) have now won four in a row.
 
This was a key dual for the Kearney men as they came into the week ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Central Region rankings with the 29th-ranked Savage Storm (15-5) second. SSU also owned a win over No. 18 Ouachita Baptist, the team that defeated UNK on Thursday.
 
Like they have all spring, the Lopers were dominant in doubles (43-11), winning all three matches to be two points from victory.
 
UNK won 8-6 at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles with sophomore Mohab El Zanaty (Egypt) and freshman Joey Richards (Eden Prairie, Minn.) winning a tie breaker, 7-5, to win in the second spot, 9-8.
 
Sophomore Lucas Garces (Spain) quickly won his No. 3 singles match to put UNK up 4-0 but the Savage Storm won two in a row to tighten things up.
 
At No. 4 singles, El Zanaty got past Jack Gibbens in a marathon match, 7-6 (8), 7-5, to give the Lopers the dual. To cap the day, senior Jack Nicholson (England) bounced back from a first set loss to win in the sixth spot; 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5).
 
The Loper women, ranked sixth in the region, managed to get past the region's fourth ranked team despite being down 4-3. 
 
Senior Kari Emery and sophomore Emma Neil won 9-8 (3) at No. 3 doubles to score a key team point. The pair improved to 11-3 with senior Kristin Weems (Arlington, Texas) and junior Paula Jimenez (Spain) a team-best 17-3 after an 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles.
 
Sophomore lefty Sthefani Rodriguez (Venezuela) allowed just three points in winning at No. 2 singles but SSU took the next three matches to lead 4-3.
 
At the sixth spot, Emery (Tucson, Ariz.) managed her 15th win (6-4, 6-3) to tie things up and then, one spot higher in the lineup, Neil (Papillion) got past Conchi Assiego, 7-6 (3), 6-2, to score the fifth team point. Neil was down 4-1 in the first set but rallied in a big way to be at 14-5 for the season.
 
UNK finishes up a long week with a trip to Ada, Okla., on Sunday afternoon to face East Central University.