Game of the Week: St. Scholsatica at Northwestern - Women's Tennis
UMAC Game of the Week Archives
ST. PAUL -- The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Game of the Week is a feature that takes place each week throughout the conference portion of the season with one contest being selected and highlighted as the UMAC Game of the Week.
The UMAC Women’s Tennis Coaches Preseason Poll favorites will face off in the UMAC Game of the Week this Saturday for the first of two meetings in the 2014 campaign when the College of St. Scholastica plays the University of Northwestern at Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville, Minn. at 1 p.m. Both the Saints and Eagles received 23 points and three first place votes in the Feb. 4 league release.
About the Saints
The St. Scholastica women's tennis team is off to a 9-5 start this season. The Saints opened up conference play last weekend with a pair of wins over Bethany Lutheran and North Central. The Saints have been led by a pair of freshmen this season as Madeleine Scanlan has 11 singles wins and Jessica Solberg has 10 singles wins.
The Saints have never lost a UMAC dual match with a record of 113-0. Northwestern will be the biggest challenge to that streak in some time. Both the Saints and Eagles shared the top spot in the preseason coaches' poll. Both teams have faced MIAC programs Hamline, Bethel and Concordia with Northwestern 3-0 against those teams and the Saints 2-1. The Eagles are 21-6 in matches against those teams, while the Saints were 20-7.
About the Eagles
Northwestern enters Saturday’s bout with a 6-4 overall record, with all 10 of those contests coming against non-conference opponents, meaning the St. Scholastica match will be the Eagles’ first UMAC date of the year.
Megan Johnson, the 2013 UMAC Player of the Year, leads Northwestern again this season. Johnson has gone 6-4 in her No. 1 singles position while teaming up with No. 1 doubles partner Kelly Johnson (no relation) to go 6-4 in their matches as well. Rookie Karen Moe had a strong debut at the Eagles’ No. 2 singles spot, winning her first four matches. Moe is now 7-3 in singles play and has the same record in doubles action with teammate Tina Matetich, also a freshman. Megan Johnson, Moe and Matetich have all been voted the UMAC Player of the Week at least once this year.
While Northwestern and St. Scholastica were equals in the preseason poll, the Eagles enter Saturday’s contest as a slight underdog seeing as though UNW has never defeated the Saints in their 34 prior matchups. Northwestern has been defeated by at least three points in every one of those bouts and lost 8-1 and 7-2 in last year’s matches between the two teams.
Game Notes
-The Saints are 34-0 all-time against Northwestern. The closest score between the two programs has been 6-3, which has occurred four times.
-The Saints are 55-29 in singles play and 32-10 in doubles action this year.
- Northwestern is 3-0 against common opponents that have played St. Scholastica this season. The Saints are 2-1 against those same teams (Hamline, Bethel, Concordia-Moorhead).
- St. Scholastica's No. 1 doubles team of Alexis Gunderson and Jessica Solberg, along with the No. 2 team of Madeleine Scanlan and Alex Herbst, are a combined 18-5 this season.
- Megan Johnson is tied for second in Northwestern’s record book for singles wins in a career (36), nine victories behind the leader.
Northwestern Recap |
St. Scholastica Recap |
Final: UNW 6, CSS 3
For information on other contests around the league this week, visit the UMAC's live scoreboard.