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The St. Catherine University tennis team has shown in recent years that is one of the top Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) programs through its continued success in conference matches and its level of against top programs in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Region.
Following another strong season with a 10-7 overall record and 6-4 mark against MIAC opponents, the Wildcats sealed their fifth-consecutive trip to the conference playoffs where they will face St. Olaf College Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Northfield, Minnesota.
A year ago, the Wildcats entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed and hosted the Oles in a closely contested match in Minneapolis. By a score of 5-4, the Wildcats defeated the Oles for their first playoff victory in a four-year span before falling in the semifinal to eventual champion Carleton College.
This year, the tables are reversed as the Wildcats drew the No. 5 seed and will face the No. 4 Oles on their home court in what could be another closely contested match.
In their first matchup this year, the Oles pulled away with a 6-3 win, but it wasn't without a tough fight from the Wildcats. At No. 1 doubles,
Kylie Ketcho (Eden Prairie, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) and
Mikinzee Salo (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd) defeated Alisa Hall and Margaret Zimmerman 8-3. Ketcho and Salo went on to finish the season undefeated in conference play (10-0) and are currently ranked No. 12 in the Central region for doubles pairs.
The Wildcats threatened to sweep doubles as
Maria Koval (Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) and
Angie Lorenzen (Mitchell, S.D./Mitchell) took down Maya MacGibbon and Kristi Kroker 8-1 at No. 2 doubles, before
Alicia Knoll (Waseca, Minn./Waseca) and
Julia Sporer (Rogers, Minn./Rogers) narrowly lost 9-8 (4) in a tiebreaker to Bailey Kent and Erin McDonald.
Koval and Lorenzen went an impressive 7-2 in MIAC matches at the No. 2 position, while
Jessica Duda (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) and Knoll won four conference matches together at the No. 3 spot.
Knoll picked up the Wildcats' lone singles win in the first match against the Oles as she defeated MacGibbon 7-5, 6-4 at No. 4 singles. Knoll finished the year a remarkable 8-2 in conference play at both the No. 4 and 5 spots. She also opened the season on a seven-match singles winning streak and lost her only singles matches to players from the top two seeded MIAC teams in Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of St. Thomas.
Koval enters the match with an 8-2 record at No. 1 singles against conference opponents. The senior will face the No. 25-ranked player in the region in Alisa Hall who won in their first meeting. Since that meeting, Koval has surpassed the 100-career dual match wins mark and currently ranks No. 4 all-time at St. Kate's for career singles and doubles wins.
Salo has been solid for the Wildcats most of the season at the No. 2 singles spot with a 12-5 overall record – the best by a Wildcat this season individually – and a 6-4 mark in conference play.
Ketcho had her best season at singles so far in her three years boasting an 11-6 overall mark and 8-2 mark in conference play with wins at the No. 2 and 3 positions.
Lorenzen captured five MIAC singles wins this season, while Sporer had three as they will complete the Wildcat line up at the No. 5 and 6 spots.
Information regarding the Wildcat match and the rest of the MIAC tournament can be found on the
playoffs site.
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