ST. PAUL, Minn.---ST. PAUL, Minn.---It’s been nearly 11 months since most Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women’s tennis teams saw their seasons abruptly end due to the COVID-19 pandemic, well before conference play even got going for most teams.
However, after over a year gap in competition, the UMAC is ready to see its teams hit the hard court once again with an opportunity to crown conference and tournament champions in early May and to send a team on to the NCAA Championship.
As the season looks to get started in just a short amount of time, the UMAC coaches predict that the College of St. Scholastica will once again reign supreme as the Saints collected 48 points and six first place votes to headline the UMAC Women’s Tennis Preseason Coaches’ Poll announced Wednesday.
The Saints have won at least a share of the last four UMAC regular season conference championships and three-straight tournament titles. In their final season in the UMAC, the Saints are once again expected to earn the top spot in the standings. Junior Madilyn Jankila will lead a young Saints squad after earning All-UMAC honors as a rookie in 2019 when she went 11-5 in singles play.
While the Saints were tabbed first in the poll, finishing with a UMAC championship won’t be easy as the University of Northwestern and University of Wisconsin-Superior should challenge the Saints at the top. The Eagles were picked second with 43 points and a first-place nod, while the Yellowjackets accumulated 38 points and a first-place vote.
Northwestern most recently earned a share of a conference title in 2017 and will look to unseat the Saints with seniors Mafee Rinta and Jessica Gross leading the way. Both have been solid contributors for the Eagles in the last few seasons and started off the shortened 2020 season with at least three doubles wins a piece.
Wisconsin-Superior is still looking for its first championship since joining the conference in 2018 for women’s tennis. Senior Emily Wald will look to lead the Yellowjackets along with junior Maya Callaway. Wald was an All-UMAC selection as a first-year player in 2018.
It was a close call for the top four as the University of Minnesota Morris tallied 25 points in the vote, while Martin Luther College collected 24 points. The Cougars hope make back-to-back UMAC tournament appearances and will need strong seasons from junior Kate Obright and senior Same Tate who was an All-UMAC pick as a sophomore in 2019.
The Knights will have new leadership under head coach Laura Martens this season and will look to get back into the UMAC tournament for the first time since 2018. Martens will rely on the veteran trio of Dana Pietryzk, Tatum Bollmeier and Hannah Broring.
The rest of the poll rounds out with Bethany Lutheran College in sixth (19), Crown College in seventh (17) and North Central University in eighth (10). The Vikings will look to junior Taylor Bolduan – who was a 2019 All-UMAC selection – to lead the way for an experience crew. Crown looks for continued improvement with returners Sierra Allison and Abby Engrav back to lead the squad. North Central will be led by second-year Head Coach David Stabley to help the team continue to improve.
Some UMAC teams are slated to begin non-conference play in mid-February with conference matches slated throughout the spring. The conference tournament is slated for Wednesday, May 5 (semifinals) and Saturday, May 8 (championship) with the winner earning the conference’s automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA tournament.
| Pl. | School | Pts. |
| 1. | St. Scholastica | 48 (6) |
| 2. | Northwestern | 43 (1) |
| 3. | Wisconsin-Superior | 38 (1) |
| 4. | Minnesota Morris | 25 |
| 5. | Martin Luther | 24 |
| 6. | Bethany Lutheran | 19 |
| 7. | Crown | 17 |
| 8. | North Central | 10 |