Results
After clinching a share of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) title with a 9-0 win over Macalester College on Wednesday, the 2013 season couldn't get much closer to perfect for the St. Catherine University tennis team.
That is, of course, except for winning the program's first conference crown outright and completing an undefeated MIAC season.
But it wasn't going to be easy as the Wildcats still had yet to face a St. Olaf College squad that was 6-2 in conference play and held the No. 20 ranking in the latest release of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Region poll.
The Wildcats took advantage of a perfect Friday afternoon to make St. Catherine history, though, as they defeated the Oles 7-2 to complete a perfect 10-0 conference season and win the MIAC title outright in Northfield, Minn.
With the win, the Wildcats are the first team aside from Carleton College, Gustavus Adolphus College or the University of St. Thomas to win a women's tennis championship in the history of the MIAC and just the second time any St. Catherine team has ever won a conference title in any sport.
The Wildcats kicked off their big win as they have done seven other times this season in conference matches with a 3-0 sweep of doubles.
Angie Lorenzen (Mitchell, S.D.) and
Mikinzee Salo (Brainerd, Minn.) picked up their 10th conference win at No. 3 singles with a perfect 8-0 win over the Oles' Maya MacGibbon and Andrea Jumes. The two have picked up three perfect 8-0 wins in MIAC play this season and lost just once this season in the lone Wildcat non-conference loss.
Michaela Burroughs (Waterloo, Neb.) and
Maria Koval (Green Bay, Wis.) cruised to an 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles, while
Victoria Bravo (Tucson, Ariz.) and
Kylie Ketcho (Edina, Minn.) scored an 8-4 victory to give the Wildcats a lead heading into singles.
At the top spot, Bravo held on for a perfect conference season with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 win over Alisa Hall. This season, Bravo has proven why she is the top-ranked MIAC singles player as she has lost just twice at No. 1 singles – both losses coming in non-conference contests.
Koval also finished the regular season with an untarnished singles record in MIAC play as she came back after going down 1-4 in the first set to win 7-5, 6-1 over Kristi Kroker at No. 3. The sophomore finished with just two non-conference singles losses this season.
At No. 4 singles, Ketcho also picked up a 7-5, 6-1 win, while Salo finished off the Oles' Lizzie Carlson 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 6 position to lift the Wildcats to victory. Salo finished the MIAC season with eight conference wins, while Ketcho pulled in seven – both in their first season with the Wildcats.
The Wildcats finish 15-1 overall with their only loss coming in March to the University of Texas at Dallas in non-conference play. The finish is the best in program history and helps the Wildcats remain the top MIAC team in the Central Region.
The MIAC conference tournament begins in one week with the Wildcats receiving a bye for the quarterfinal round. As the No. 1 seed in the tournament, the Wildcats will play the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 4 at Gustavus in St. Peter, Minn.
Wildcats on Twitter
Wildcats on Facebook
