MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. – The St. Catherine University tennis team wasted no time jumping right into the 2017 season. The Wildcats faced two formidable opponents Friday evening in the University of Minnesota-Duluth and the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Unfortunately, St. Kate's was unable to come away with a victory in either match, falling 5-4 to UMD and 8-1 to Northwestern.

The Wildcats No. 1 doubles and singles player Alicia Knoll (Waseca, MInn. / Waseca) found quick success in the opening match against the UMD Bulldogs, as she went 2-0 with wins in both doubles and singles play for St. Kate's. Knoll and partner Alisha Wiedmeier (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens) earned the Wildcats lone point in doubles play with an 8-4 win over Shelby Benkofske and Kelsey Zetah before Knoll went on to win her singles match at the No. 1 spot 6-3, 6-4.

Jessica Duda (St. Michael, Minn. / St. Michael-Albertville) and Kailey Maroney (Montevideo, Minn. / Montevideo) also had success in singles play against the Bulldogs. Duda defeated Zetah in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to earn a point for St. Kate's in the No. 4 singles spot, while Maroney beat Elsa Erickson 6-1, 6-4 at the No. 6 singles spot.  

Unfortunately, St. Kate's came up short in its other matches against UMD, eventually losing the dual 5-4. However, the Wildcats looked to bounce back in their second match of the evening against Northwestern. Unfortunately, St. Kate's did not get off to a good start in doubles play, as all three teams lost. Knoll and partner Bri Dorr (Princeton, Minn. / Princeton) fell at the No. 1 doubles spot 8-4 before Aubrey Eckstrom (St. James, Minn. / St. James) and Julia Sporer (Rogers, Minn. / Rogers) fell to the Eagles No. 2 tennis team 8-6.

Wiedmeier and Leah Obert (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) played a thrilling doubles match at the No. 3 spot against Northwestern's Brooke Lapinski and Rachel Lukkarilla. After nearly an hour of thrilling tennis, Wiedmeier and Obert were unable to break Lapinski and Lukkarilla and eventually fell by a score of 9-7.

The Wildcats luck did not improve in singles play, as Sporer provided the lone win of the night for St. Kate's. The junior defeated Nikki Eden 6-3, 7-6 at the No. 5 singles spot to earn the Wildcats lone point against the Eagles.

With the losses, St. Kate's opens the season with a 0-2 record and has not yet faced any opponents from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). The Wildcats will return to the court next Saturday, February 11, when they face Martin Luther at 2:30 p.m. and open MIAC play against Concordia at 7:30 p.m. Both matches will take place at the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center.