Upper Midwest Athletic Conference

2013 UMAC Women’s Tennis Coaches’ Poll
1. 25 Points - College of St. Scholastica (5 First Place Votes)
2. 21 Points - Northwestern College (1)
3. 17 Points - University of Minnesota Morris
4. 12 Points - Martin Luther College
5.  8 Points  - Bethany Lutheran College
6.  7 Points  - North Central University

ST. PAUL -- The College of St. Scholastica women's tennis team was once again selected by the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) coaches as the favorite to win the the UMAC regular season trophy in 2013.  The Saints have won every regular season championship since 1997 under coach Wells Patten. 

1. College of St. Scholastica Saints
2012 Overall Record: 18-6
2012 UMAC Record: 10-0
2012 UMAC Finish: 1
Starters Returning: 7
Starters Lost: 1

The St. Scholastica women’s tennis team returns just about everyone from last year’s squad. The Saints, who have yet to lose a UMAC match since the league was established, will be in search of its 17th consecutive UMAC regular season and tournament championships.

The Saints return the top three players from last year, including 2012 UMAC Player of the Year junior Hillary Bungarden. Bungarden recorded 16 wins in both singles and doubles play last year with a majority of those coming at the No. 1 flight. Sophomore Rachael Zwiener is also back after leading the team in singles (17) and doubles (17) wins. Sophomore Alexis Gunderson is the third in the trio. Gunderson had 15 singles wins and 12 doubles victories. Head coach Wells Patten expects all three to be even better this season after a good offseason.

Also back for the Saints is senior Megan Lawrence, who won 15 singles matches last season, including 13 straight at one point. In doubles, Allie Carlson and Kelli Johnson return. Carlson registered 15 doubles wins a year ago, while Johnson had 13. Also expect to see Aleksandra Ochrymowicz in the singles lineup this season.

Newcomers include Gunderson’s former Virginia High School teammates Katie Kingston and Megan Skorich. Gunderson and Kingston teamed up in doubles to place third at the State Tournament. Alexa Herbst will also see plenty of action this season.

2. Northwestern College Eagles
2012 Overall Record: 12-13
2012 UMAC Record: 8-2
2012 UMAC Finish: 2
Starters Returning: 4
Starters Lost: 2

Rightfully so, the Northwestern College women’s tennis team is excited about its prospects in 2013 after the 2012 squad produced the program’s second-best number of wins in a season last year. In addition to their 12-13 overall record, the Eagles finished 8-2 in UMAC play a season ago. Megan Johnson and Kelly Johnson, NWC’s Nos. 1 and 2 singles players who combined to go 7-2 in conference doubles matches last year, are back for their sophomore seasons. Both all-conference award recipients, Megan Johnson went 6-3 in UMAC singles matches with Kelly Johnson earning a 7-2 mark in the same contests. Amber Gallaway is also back after going 6-3 in league competition in 2012. Gallaway played at least two matches in four different singles positions last year. UMAC All-Conference award recipient Rachel Smith returns with a 8-2 league mark.

In addition to welcoming new players to the roster, Northwestern will also have a fresh face on its sideline in new head coach Matt Swigart, who replaces nine-year head coach John Sanny. Swigart played tennis for the Eagles for three years in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

3. University of Minnesota Morris Cougars
2012 Overall Record: 6-7
2012 UMAC Record: 6-4
2012 UMAC Finish: 3
Starters Returning: 5
Starters Lost: 1

Minnesota Morris returns a pair of All-Conference players and UMAC Coach of the Year Eli Starzl from a team that finished last season 6-4 in the UMAC, their first winning season in the UMAC. The Cougars finished the year in third in the UMAC in 2012.

Abby Fragodt, an All-Conference player in 2012 who was the number one player all year for the Cougars returns in 2013. She finished the 2012 season 10-3 on the year. Christina Mollan is another 2012 All-Conference player returning for the Cougars in 2013.  Mollan was the number two singles player finishing the year 6-6.

Kayla Kramer who is a freshman on the women’s basketball team will join the squad this season after reaching the Class AA State Quarterfinals last year for Brainerd.

4. Martin Luther College Knights
2012 Overall Record: 4-9
2012 UMAC Record: 4-6
2012 UMAC Finish: 4
Starters Returning: 1
Starters Lost: 5

The 2013 MLC women’s tennis team will feature a number of new faces after five contributors depart following last season’s fourth place finish in the UMAC.

The most difficult player to replace will be three-time All-UMAC performer Rachel Niemi at the top of the lineup, but the Knights must also replace veterans Karina Luthra, Leslie Klinski, Michelle Hintz and Heidi Heckmann, who often filled spots 2-5 in the MLC line-up in 2012. The two returning players from last season’s team are Jackie Keller and Carissa Kock, who each gained experience last season in singles and double competition. Keller will likely lead the line-up this season after going 0-2 in singles and 4-8 in doubles in 2012, while Kock will likely be positioned in the top half of the line-up after a 3-4 singles record last season.

MLC will feature five freshmen this season, several of whom will be asked to play near the top of the line-up. Holly Marquardt will start the season in the top half of the line-up, while Jana Spriggs, Charis Goelzer, Melissa Stibb and Mateja Epple will look to add depth to the roster.

5. Bethany Lutheran College Vikings
2012 Overall Record: 2-10
2012 UMAC Record: 2-8
2012 UMAC Finish: 5
Starters Returning: 5
Starters Lost: 2

The Bethany Lutheran women's team had their first ever fall season in 2012 and competed in 7 matches during that season.  This year they look to improve on last year's 2 and 8 conference record and 2 and 10 overall record.  The women's team brings back a lot of experience including senior captain and #1 singles player Rebecca Kopacek.  Also coming back and playing #3 singles will be sophomore Rebecca Grove.  Rounding out the returners are junior's Ellen Tommerdahl, Rebecca Neumann, and Marta Faugstad.  Newcomer Marissa Teems has been playing #2 singles as a freshman.  Also joining the program as freshman are Ashley Stahl, Kasarah Smart, Anna Pietsch and Anna Wiechmann. 

Head Coach Andy Krueger is in his first season as the head coach at Bethany.  Prior to that he was the head girl's tennis coach at Mankato East High School compiling a 39 and 36 record over 5 seasons.  Assistant Coach Ryan Fredrickson is also joining the ranks of NCAA coaching for the first time. Assistant Chris Harstad will continue to work with the Bethany Tennis team.

6. North Central University Rams
2012 Overall Record: 0-10
2012 UMAC Record: 0-10
2012 UMAC Finish: 6
Starters Returning: 0
Starters Lost: 5

The Rams will be in rebuilding mode in 2013 under first year coach Larry Bach. While Bach is enthusiastic about the excitement his young team has he realizes that without any returners from last year’s team, North Central will be looking to re-establish a base for the future.

Freshman Megan Gusmer has experience in number one doubles and number two singles during her senior year at Minnewaska (Minn.) High School in 2012. Freshman Nicole Demuth was a number two doubles player at Rocori (Minn.) in 2012 and could form part of a quality doubles team for NCU in 2013. Freshman Mary Metzger has experience in both doubles and singles action at Oakwood (Minn.) High School. Coach Bach believes these freshman along with several other experienced players will lay a bedrock that can be a platform for improving the Rams standings in the UMAC over the next few seasons.

The teams are currenlty competing against non-conference competition with each team slated to play a 10 contest conference schedule beginning in March.  Following the conclusion of the regular season, four of the six teams will gather at the Baseline Tennis Center on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis on May 3-4 for the UMAC Tournament, featuring team semifinal matches on Friday, May 3, with the winners facing each other in the tournament championship on Saturday, May 4.