Saints edge Eagles by two in UMAC Women's Tennis Preseason Poll
ST. PAUL, Minn.---For the first time in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women's tennis history, the conference will receive an automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA championships with the addition of two new programs set to begin action this spring. With the AQ on the line, the College of St. Scholastica and the University of Northwestern are set to duke it out for a chance at the title as the Saints edged out the Eagles by two points in the UMAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll announced Tuesday.
Crown College and the University of Wisconsin-Superior added both men's and women's tennis which brings the conference total to eight programs vying for an opportunity to represent the UMAC at the national level in 2018. The winner of the UMAC postseason tournament – which moves to a high-seed host format – will earn the AQ. Each conference team will also play all other conference opponents just once to count toward the regular season conference standings. The Saints are favorites as they collected 47 points and five first-place votes in Tuesday's poll, while the Eagles were second with 45 points and three first-place votes.
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Poll |
Matchups |
Team Previews |
Last season, the Saints and Eagles split their regular season contests to end tied for the conference title with 9-1 UMAC marks. However, the Saints managed to pull off the win in the postseason tournament to end the Eagles' streak of three-consecutive playoff championships. Since 2014, the Saints and Eagles have each won at least a share of the conference regular season title three-of-four times.
Both teams will have a shot at the title, but will need to do it without the top-heavy rosters they've been accustomed to over the last few years. The Saints will be without the dynamic duo of Madeline Scanlan and Jessica Solberg who earned seven combined All-UMAC honors during their careers. Scanlan finished second all-time in Saints history for total combined wins, while Solberg was 10th.
The Saints will reload with the return of Sarah Coryell who owns a Saints' program record for career singles wins and was the first player in program history to record back-to-back 20-win seasons in singles. The two-time All-UMAC senior should help lead the Saints to another successful season along with two-time All-UMAC pick Elise Hauer and Katelyn Rice.
The Eagles will be without back-to-back UMAC Player of the Year Karen Moe, but they're poised for another solid season with the return of three-time All-UMAC honoree Brooke Lapinski who recorded 26 doubles wins a year ago. Other All-UMAC selections from last spring returning to the Eagle line up include Nikki Paskewitz and Emily Knight who each tallied over 20 doubles wins.
Martin Luther College will look for a fifth-consecutive postseason appearance after taking third in the poll with 35 points. The Knights will look to All-UMAC returners Anna Hemmelman and Rachel Riediger to lead the charge as they filled the top two spots, respectively, in singles last season picking up at least six wins each.
Bethany Lutheran College will contest the Knights again this season as they were a close fourth with 32 points. The Vikings will need strong performances from returners Denae Walton and Justine Bennett who collected just three wins each in singles a year ago.
The University of Minnesota Morris will try to find a way back to the postseason after missing a year ago. The Cougars came in fifth with 21 points and bring back experience in Makenzie Burris, Emily Johnson and Abby VanKempen. Upstart Wisconsin-Superior was slated just one point behind for sixth and has several players who have state championship experience to bring to the new program.
North Central University was fifth a year ago and has several returning players who should see improvement under new head coach Carin Tuff. The Rams came in seventh with 13 points, while the new Crown squad rounded out eighth with 11 points.
Four UMAC programs kick off the 2018 season this weekend including Wisconsin-Superior's inaugural match against University of Minnesota-Duluth. Most UMAC programs have several matches scheduled throughout February with Crown playing it's first-ever match against Minnesota Morris in non-conference action.
Into March, most UMAC teams continue non-conference action while Crown and Wisconsin-Superior will face off March 22 for the first conference game of the year. Several other UMAC programs will begin league play that same Saturday.
Key rivalry matchups include the top two squads in St. Scholastica and Northwestern facing off in St. Paul on April 19. Bethany Lutheran plays at Martin Luther on April 21 for the conference game between the two teams. They meet earlier in non-conference action.
The UMAC postseason tournament will feature the top four squads in the conference standings beginning Monday, April 30. The top two seeds will host semifinal matches that Monday with the title match slated for Friday at the highest remaining seed.
Complete UMAC Schedule
2018 UMAC Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. St. Scholastica - 47 points (5 First Place Votes)
2. Northwestern - 45 points (3 First Place Vote)
3. Martin Luther - 35 points
4. Bethany Lutheran - 32 points
5. Minnesota Morris - 21 points
6. Wisconsin-Superior - 20 points
7. North Central -13 points
8. Crown - 11 points
Team Previews
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BLC |
CC |
CSS |
MLC |
NCU |
UMM |
UNW |
UWS |
Bethany Lutheran College
Jill Bailey | 2nd Season |
2017 Season
4-6 UMAC, 4-18 Overall | 4th |
Postseason: #4 Seed in UMAC Conference Tournament Lost 0-9 to #1 St. Scholastica
Top Returners
Denae Walton, So | 2017: Singles – 3-19, Doubles – 4-18| 2017 UMAC Academic Award
Justine Bennett, Sr | 2017: Singles – 3-16, Doubles – 3-18 | 2017 UMAC Sportsmanship Award
Need to Know
Denae Walton already earned UMAC All-Conference honors this fall in golf. She is looking to carry that success over to the tennis court too.
College of St. Scholastica
Wells Patten | 22nd Season |
2017 Season
9-1 UMAC, 18-6 | T-1st |
Postseason: UMAC Tournament champions (6-3 vs. Northwestern); Lost to Hope College 5-0 in First Round of NCAA Tournament
Top Returners
- Sarah Coryell, Sr.| 2017, 2016 All-UMAC | 2017: 21-2, 3-1 |Already holds program record for career singles wins, Became the first player in program history to record back-to-back 20-win seasons |
- Elise Hauer, Jr. | 2017, 2016 All-UMAC | 2017: 5-8, 9-2 |
- Katelyn Rice, Jr. | 2017 All-UMAC | 2017: 10-5, 10-7 |
Need to Know
The Saints have made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
Crown College
Eric Shourds | 1st Season |
Need to Know
2018 is the first year of the Crown Tennis program.
Martin Luther College
Arlen Koester | 23rd season |
2017 Season
6-4 UMAC, 6-10 overall | 3rd |
Postseason: Lost semi-final round of UMAC tournament
Top Returners
- Anna Hemmelman, So. | 2017 All-UMAC| 2017: 7-9 Singles, 7-9 Doubles |played as singles #1 and doubles #1 |
- Rachel Riediger, Sr. | 2017 All-UMAC | 2017: 6-9 Singles, 6-9 Doubles |played as singles #2 and doubles #1 |
- Sophia Birner, Jr. | 2017: 4-10 Singles, 4-10 Doubles |played as singles #3 and doubles #2 |
Need to Know
MLC has qualified for the UMAC Tennis Championships each of the last four seasons.
North Central University
Carin L. Tuff | 1st Season |
2017 Season
UMAC 1-12, Overall 1-9 | T-5th |
Top Returners
- Jaila Cappelli, Sr. | NCU most improved player freshman year | 2017: Singles Record 1-8, Doubles Record 2-7 |
- Sierra Hunter, So. | 2017: Singles Record 3-10, Doubles Record 0-12 |
- Madalyn Meetz, So. | NCU coaches awards 2017| Team Captain | 2017: Singles Record 1-12, Doubles Record 2-11 |
Need to Know
The Rams upset Minnesota-Morris 5-4 for their first win last season.
University of Minnesota Morris
Jalen Voss | 2nd season |
2017 Season
1-9 UMAC record, 1-14 Overall record | T-5th |
Top Returners
- Mackenzie Burris, So. | 2017: 2-11 Singles Record, 1-12 Doubles Record
- Emily Johnson, Sr. | 2017: 3-6 Singles Record, 1-8 Doubles Record
- Abby Van Kempen, So. | 2017: 1-9 Singles Record, 3-7 Doubles Record
University of Northwestern
Matt Swigart | 6th Season |
2017 Season
9-1 UMAC, 24-7 Overall | Regular Season Co-Champions|
Postseason: Fell to No. 27-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in NCAA Tournament
Top Returners
- Brooke Lapinski, Sr. | 2017 UMAC Player of the Week, 2017 UMAC 1st Team All-Conference, 2017 UMAC Individual Sportsmanship Award Winner, 2016 UMAC 1st Team All-Conference, 2016 UMAC Academic All-conference, 2015 1st Team All-Conference, 2015 UMAC Individual Sportsmanship Award Winner, 2017 UMAC Academic All-Conference | 2017 NCCAA Second Team All-American, 2017 NCCAA Scholar Athlete | 2017: Singles Record: 20-10, Doubles Record: 26-5 |Recorded her 100th win last season |
- Nikki Paskewitz, Jr. | 2016 UMAC Academic All-Conference, 2017 UMAC 1st Team All-Conference, 2017 UMAC Academic All-Conference | 2017: Singles Record: 24-6, Doubles Record: 25-6 |
- Emily Knight, Jr. | 2017 UMAC 1st Team All-Conference | 2017: Singles Record: 19-11, Doubles Record: 21-10 |
- Gracie LeBrun, So. | 2017: Singles Record: 15-4, Doubles Record: 10-8 |
Need to Know
- Last season, the purple and gold made their second- straight NCAA Appearance
- Last season, the squad said its final farewell to Karen Moe, Northwestern's all-time winningest player in program history, who finished her career with a 103-8 record in singles and 90-27 record in doubles [193-35 combined]. The purple and gold also said goodbye to Tina Matetich, who surpassed 100 wins throughout her college career at UNW.
University of Wisconsin-Superior
Kolin Dean | 1st season |
Need to Know
This will be the inaugural season for Wisconsin-Superior women’s tennis.