ResultsHeading into the weekend, the St. Catherine University tennis team was in control of its own Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) playoff destiny with two conference matches lined up. For the second straight day, though, the Wildcats dropped another 5-4 heartbreaker – this time to the University of St. Thomas – to finish the regular MIAC season 7-3 and clinch the No. 4 seed in the MIAC playoffs Sunday evening in Fridley, Minn.
For the second match in a row, the Wildcats uncharacteristically dropped two of three doubles matches heading into singles play at a 2-1 disadvantage. Sunday, the No. 1 pair of
Victoria Bravo (Tucson, Ariz.) and
Mikinzee Salo (Brainerd,Minn.) scored the Wildcats only singles victory over one of the top-ranked doubles pairs in the region with a 9-7 decision over Kara Lefsrud and Bridget Noack.
The pair of Bravo and Salo were also the only two Wildcats on the day to pick up victories in both singles and doubles. Bravo picked up her ninth MIAC win of the season to finsih 9-0 and a perfect 19-0 at the No. 1 spot in her two-year MIAC singles career. Her win came in a three-set victory over Shelby Henderson. Bravo dropped the first set 3-6, but rebounded with a close 7-6 win in the second before taking the tiebreaker third set 10-7.
Salo picked up her seventh MIAC win of the season with a close win in three sets over Rachel Wright at the No. 4 spot. Salo also dropped her first set 4-6 before turning around to take the second 6-2. She then finished off Wright 10-7 in the third set tie breaker.
Maria Koval (Green Bay, Wis.) was the final Wildcat to pick up a singles victory for her eighth conference win of the season. Sunday, Koval defeated Noack in straight-sets at the No. 2 spot 7-6, 6-1.
With the loss, the Wildcats finish the regular season 12-7 overall and 7-3 in the MIAC. The Wildcats will now be the No. 4 seed in the MIAC playoffs and host to a match against No. 5 seed St. Olaf College on Tuesday afternoon. The match will take place at the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center at 3 p.m.
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