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It is safe to say the 2013 season was one to remember for the St. Catherine University tennis team as it won its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular season title in program history in undefeated fashion. Though the Wildcats were unable to defend their title, the 2014 season shaped up to be a great one as the Wildcats finished 7-3 in conference play to clinch a postseason berth for the fourth-consecutive season.

The Wildcats are slated to open the tournament as the No. 4 seed against No. 5 St. Olaf College Tuesday afternoon  at the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn., at 3 p.m. Earlier this season, the Wildcats defeated the Oles 6-3 as they dropped just one match in doubles play  – an area the Wildcats have excelled for the last several seasons  – before cruising to four singles wins. Heading into the final weekend of play, the Wildcats had lost just twice in MIAC doubles matches before surrendering two of three in both matches against the College of Saint Benedict and the University of St. Thomas. 

With the two losses this weekend, the Wildcats fell to the No. 4 position in the standings after winning five-straight conference matches following a loss to the top-seeded Carleton College squad that went a perfect 10-0 in conference play this season. The Wildcats also split with the No. 2 Gustavus Adolphus College Gusties during the season, but took the conference matchup in thrilling fashion with a 7-2 vicrory to clinch a playoff spot. 

The Wildcats will look to end a two-match losing streak against the Oles on Tuesday and will rely heavily on its top singles players Victoria Bravo (Tucson, Ariz.) and Maria Koval (Green Bay, Wis.) to lead the team at the top two spots. In her second season as a Wildcat, Bravo claimed nine MIAC singles victories at the No. 1 position and wraps up her career with an untainted 19-0 regular season MIAC singles record. The All-MIAC selection in both singles and doubles from a year ago boasts a 29-4 record in two seasons and picked up three MIAC Athlete-of-the-Week awards in 2014. 

Koval enters the tournament with a 8-2 record in MIAC singles play with seven of her wins coming at the No. 2 position. The junior has earned four All-MIAC honors in her career as her 39 career singles wins rank No. 5 all-time at St. Kate's. She also earned a MIAC Athlete-of-the-Week honor earlier this season after helping the Wildcats defeat the Gusites and claim a spot in the post season. 

In singles play, no Wildcat had more than three individual conference losses this season with Kylie Ketcho (Edina, Minn.) and Mikinzee Salo (Brainerd, Minn.) each finishing 7-3 against MIAC opponents, while first-year Alicia Knoll (Waseca, Minn.) was 6-3 and Megan Buysse (Redwood Falls, Minn.) was 5-3. 

The strength of the Wildcats should come in doubles play as all but one Wildcat had no more than two losses this season. Bravo and Salo finished the season playing together at the No. 1 spot with their first loss of the season in MIAC doubles play came Saturday against Saint Benedict. This was just the first MIAC doubles loss of Salo's career and the second for Bravo. Bravo finished the MIAC season 8-1 with all of her wins coming at the No. 1 doubles spot, while Salo was 9-1 on the season with her wins coming at both the No. 1 and 2 positions. 

Ketcho and Koval – both who have earned All-MIAC doubles honors – finished the season 8-2 and landed a crucial 9-7 win over the No. 2 pair from Gustavus to help the Wildcats to an important victory. Most of Ketcho's wins have come at the No. 1 spot this season, while Koval's impressive year helped her move to No. 6 all-time at St. Kate's in career doubles wins with 42. Knoll finished the MIAC season with a 7-3 doubles record at the No. 3 spot, while Buysse was 5-2. 

The Wildcats' opening quarterfinal match against the Oles will be open to fans free of charge at Baseline. Information regarding travel to and parking at the U of M can be found on the University's transportation page. The MIAC also has a playoffs site with more information regarding the MIAC Women's Tennis playoffs. 

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