Results
WINONA, MINN. - March has been a very kind month to the St. Catherine University tennis team. The Wildcats compiled a 7-1 record during the month and were the winners of seven straight dual matches entering Friday afternoon's match against Saint Mary's University. Thanks to clutch play from
Bri Dorr (Princeton, Minn. / Princeton) and the rest of the team, St. Kate's extended its win streak to eight straight with a 5-4 win over the Cardinals.
Dorr scored two huge points for the Wildcats by winning her matches in both doubles and singles play. As a member of St. Kate's No. 1 doubles team, Dorr and partner
Alicia Knoll (Waseca, Minn. / Waseca) defeated Laura Sonday and Megan Vandenberg 8-3 to help the Wildcats take a 2-1 lead over Saint Mary's after doubles play. However, Dorr's shining moment came during her singles match, when she secured the dual match win for her team with a thrilling, yet stressful, victory. Dorr won the opening set 7-6, but the Cardinals Cassandra Barr forced a tiebreaker set with a 6-2 set two victory. With her teammates and coaches cheering her on, Dorr won the tiebreaker 10-4 to take the match and clinch the dual match win for St. Kate's.
Knoll was equally successful in singles play, earning another key point for the Wildcats with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Sonday.
Leah Obert (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) was the other member of St. Kate's team with win her singles match, as she defeated Sheyenne Bauer 6-0, 6-2.
In addition to Knoll and Dorr, the Wildcats No. 2 doubles team of
Alisha Wiedmeier (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens) and
Julia Sporer (Rogers, Minn. / Rogers) scored a victory with an 8-1 win over Julia Boeve and Barr. Obert and her partner
Aubrey Eckstrom (St. James, Minn. / St. James) were a break point away from giving St. Kate's a 3-0 lead after doubles play, but fell to Haley Jorgensen and Marissa Kinzer 9-7.
The Wildcats final three singles players of Wiedmeier, Sporer, and
Jessica Duda (St. Michael, Minn. / St. Micahel-Albertville) each battled in their respective matches. After surrendering the first set 7-5 against Vandenberg, Wiedmeier battled back to win the second set 6-4 and force the third set tiebreaker. Unfortunately, the first year was unable to come away with a victory, falling 7-5, 4-6, 10-7.
Duda also lost her singles match to Jorgensen in heartbreaking, tiebreaker fashion. Jorgensen won the opening set 6-3 before Duda battled back to win the second 6-0. Like Wiedmeier, though, Duda was unable to come away with a victory as Jorgensen won the decisive third set to take the match 6-3, 0-6, 10-2. Sporer lost to Boeve 6-2, 6-0.
With the win, St. Kate's wins its eighth consecutive match, marking the team's longest winning streak since 2013. The Wildcats are now 10-4 overall and are 5-2 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play. St. Kate's will return to competition on April 11 when it takes on Macalester College at 5 p.m.
