Top seeds cruise into UMAC women's tennis championship match
ST. PAUL, Minn.---Over the last five seasons, the College of St. Scholastica and the University of Northwestern have become familiar foes and have exchanged stints atop the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) in both the regular and postseason. This year, the stakes are even higher as the UMAC will award an automatic qualifying bid to the playoff winner which will go to either the No. 1 Saints or No. 2 Eagles after both cruised to semifinal victories Monday evening.
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Tournament Site |
Semifinal 1 |
Semifinal 2 |
No. 1 St. Scholastica def. No. 4 Martin Luther, 7-2 |
Box Score |
After a close contest during the regular season in which the No. 1 Saints defeated the No. 4 Knights just 6-3, the champion Saints improved when it counted the most with a 7-2 decision over Martin Luther.
The Saints cruised to three quick wins in doubles behind an impressive 8-1 win from No. 3 pair Sarah Coryell and Emma Bartels. Elizabeth Fink and Katelyn Rice picked up a 8-2 win at the No. 2 spot, and the No. 1 duo of Elise Hauer and Alexia Brascugli scored a 8-4 victory.
Coryell led the Saints' four singles victories without dropping a game in her straight-set sweep at the No. 3 position. Taylor Hays won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6 singles to decide the match, while Alexia Brascugli won 7-6, 6-0 at No. 5 singles after a tiebreaker in the opening set. Daniela Rojas scored the final win at No. 2 singles in a hard fought battle that went to a third-set tiebreaker.
With the win, the Saints improve to 13-6 this season and will advance to the championship match Friday, while the Knights finish 2018 at 7-9 overall.
No. 2 Northwestern def. No. 3 Wisconsin-Superior, 8-1 |
Box Score |
The No. 2 Eagles and No. 3 Yellowjackets met just six days ago on the Northwestern courts with the home squad emerging with a 8-1 win. The Eagles were again dominant and came away with the same 8-1 score to set up another date with St. Scholastica Friday.
The Eagles picked up three big wins early in doubles with No. 1 Brooke Lapinski and Nikki Paskewitz leading off with a 8-0 decision. At No. 2 doubles, Emily Knight and Shawna Spears paired up for a 8-1 victory, while Mafee Rinta and Gracie Lebrun battled for a 8-4 win at the No. 3 doubles spot.
Paskewitz kicked off the victories in singles with a 6-1, 6-1 win at the No. 2 spot before Emily Knight scored a 6-2, 6-2 win at the third position. Lapinski earned a solid 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles to seal up the victory for the Eagles. Gracie Lebrun added a 7-5, 6-1 win at No. 5 and Jessica Gross won 6-3, 6-1 at No. 6 singles.
After winning the semifinal, the Eagles improve to 14-10 on the season. The Yellowjackets end a solid first season as a program with a 9-10 overall mark.
In another change this season, the top-seeded Saints will get the opportunity to host the championship match with the Eagles in Duluth which is slated for 5 p.m. Friday at the Longview Tennis Club.
Playoff Schedule
Semifinal Matches - Monday, April 30
No. 1 St. Scholastica def. No. 4 Martin Luther, 7-2 |
Box Score |
CSS Recap |
MLC Recap |
No. 2 Northwestern def. No. 3 Wisconsin-Superior, 8-1 |
Box Score |
UNW Recap |
UWS Recap |
Championship Match - Friday, May 4
No. 2 Northwestern at No. 1 St. Scholastica, 5 p.m., Duluth, Minnesota
Event Information
All matches will be hosted by the highest seed. There will be no charge for admission to the UMAC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships in 2018.
All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the
UMAC Women’s Tennis Tournament page. Keep up with all of the tournament action on
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2018 Tournament Page