Kearney, Neb. – The 18th-ranked Ouachita Baptist Tigers won four singles matches to slip past 27th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney, 5-4, Thursday afternoon in Springfield, Mo.

This match was originally set for Bolivar, Mo., but moved to Springfield due to weather. Despite the change, winds still howled at close to 30 miles per hour.

UNK (15-2) had won seven straight prior to today, vaulting them to No. 1 in the NCAA Central Region rankings. Meanwhile, OBU (11-4), from the Great American Conference and Arkadelphia, Ark.,, is ranked fourth in the Central. One of their setbacks was to SMU and two others came against Top 15 D2 competition.

Kearney managed a 2-1 lead after doubles thanks to a big rally by sophomore Mohab El Zanaty (Egypt) and freshman Joey Richards (Eden Prairie, Minn.). In the second spot in the lineup, they came back from deficits of 4-1 and 7-6 to win 9-8 (6).

The Tigers turned to their two nationally-ranked upperclassmen to win in straight sets at No. 1 and No. 2 singles. Senior Jack Nicholson (England) did the same for the Lopers in the sixth spot (6-2, 6-4), tying the team score at three.

OBU managed another straight sets victory in the fourth position and then German freshman Lennart Lonnemann won a third-set tiebreaker to beat El Zanaty at No. 4 singles (6-1, 4-6, 6-3).
In the latest ITA region rankings, Lonneman is ranked 7th in the region an El Zanaty 17th.

UNK ended the dual on a positive note as sophomore Lucas Garces (Spain) won 7-6 (6), 6-1 in the third spot in the lineup.

Things don't get easier for the Lopers as they face 29th-ranked SE Oklahoma State Saturday and 45th-ranked East Central Sunday.