|
Luther Results |
Grinnell Results |
ORLANDO, FLA. – The month of March has been very kind to the St. Catherine University tennis team. Since the first of the month, the Wildcats have 3-1 record, with two of those wins coming against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponents. On Tuesday, St. Kate's added two to the win column, thanks to a 9-0 victory over regionally ranked Luther College and a 5-4 win over Grinnell College to cap off the evening.
The Wildcats played one of their best matches of the season in a 9-0 upset of the regionally ranked Norse. St. Kate's held a 3-0 lead in the match thanks to stellar doubles play from all teams involved. The Wildcats No. 1 doubles team of
Alicia Knoll (Waseca, Minn. / Waseca) and
Bri Dorr (Princeton, Minn. / Princeton) played in the most intense match of the day, as the duo played in a tiebreaker to defeat Luther's No. 1 team of Lauren Welch and Britta Pressler. After an hour of play, the two teams were deadlocks at 8-8, which meant a 10 point tiebreaker was needed to determine the victory. Fortunately, it was Knoll and Dorr who came out on top, beating the Norse top-doubles team by a score of 9-8.
Julia Sporer (Rogers, Minn. / Rogers) and
Alisha Wiedmeier (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens) found similar success as St. Kate's No. 2 doubles team, as they rolled to an 8-3 win over Jacki Cychosz and Claire Christian. The squad's No. 3 team of
Aubrey Eckstrom (St. James, Minn. / St. James) and
Leah Obert (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) made it 3-0 St. Kate's with an 8-5 win.
After a successful morning of doubles play, the Wildcats continued their strong play in singles, as they swept the Norse with six straight set victories. Obert and Sporer both defeated their respective opponent 6-3, 6-1, while
Jessica Duda took down Madisen Crow 6-2, 6-2 to clich the dual match victory for St. Kate's and give the team a 6-0 lead.
Dorr and Wiedmeier gave St. Kate's a 7-0 lead with two more wins at the No. 3 and 2 singles spots. Dorr beat Christian 6-4, 6-1 while Wiedmeier won her match 6-2, 6-3. Knoll was the final Wildcat competing in the match against Luther. Although St. Kate's had already won the dual, Knoll clinched the 9-0 win with a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Cychosz.
The winning continued in the Wildcats second game of the day against Grinnell. St. Kate's took a 2-1 lead over the Pioneers after doubles play, as the teams of Wiedmeier and Sporer and Eckstrom and Obert both cruised to 8-3 victories. The No. 1 doubles team of Knoll and Dorr battled, but Grinnell broke in the final set to win 9-7.
The Pioneers made things interesting, as they won matches at the No. 1, 2, and 3 singles spots. However, victories by Sporer, Duda, and Obert clinches the dramatics 5-4 win for St. Kate's.
The Wildcats will play in their final dual match of the week on Thursday, when they take on Calvin College at 9 a.m. EST.
