MARYVILLE, Mo. – The No. 49-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men's tennis team withstood the No. 37-ranked Emporia State Hornets for a six-hour plus 4-3 dual victory over the Hornets.
 
It was the 30th straight win in the series for the Bearcats over the Hornets. Northwest owns a 47-4 lead in the all-time series with Emporia State.
 
Northwest is 12-7 overall and 4-0 in MIAA dual matches. ESU is 10-6 overall and 2-3 in MIAA play.
 
ESU took a 1-0 lead in doubles play with a pair of 7-5 victories at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Northwest's No. 3 doubles duo of Vini Rodrigues and Bernardo Henriques posted a 6-3 win.
 
The match featured a high-level matchup at No. 1 singles featuring a pair of highly ranked performers. Northwest's No. 21-ranked Dominik Wijntjes battled ESU's No. 19-ranked Anton Sarunic to a third-set tiebreaker triumph. Wijntjes captured the first set, 7-5, and Sarunic secured the second set, 6-3. Wijntjes and Sarunic went shot-for-shot in the third that resulted in a tiebreaker won by Wijntjes, 7-5.
 
Northwest's Rafal Bednarczuk delivered a straight-sets win at No. 3 singles over ESU's Alexis Mattenberger.
 
Northwest's Bernardo Henriques gained his second straight win since entering the lineup with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over ESU's Diego Calvo at No. 4 singles.
 
The dual came down to a three-set battle at No. 6 singles. Northwest's Rodrigues scored a first-set win over ESU's Hachem Fahem, 7-5. Fahem answered back with a 6-4 win in the second set. Rodrigues came through for the Bearcats with a 6-2 win in the third set to clinch the 4-3 dual victory. Rodrigues is 15-8 on the season and 12-7 in dual play. Rodrigues is 6-2 vs. MIAA/GAC opponents.
 
The Bearcats will return to action at 10:30 a.m. Saturday against the No. 7-ranked Washburn Ichabods.