WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State University women's tennis team will open up the 2021 season this Friday and Saturday, February 12-13, with a pair of matches against NSIC opponents at the Winona Tennis Center. The Warriors will host the University of Sioux Falls on Friday at 6 pm and then takes on Augustana University on Saturday at 3:30 pm.
The Warriors have not competed since the Covid-19 pandemic halted their season nearly one year ago. Winona State was in the midst of earning a 10-4 overall record and had just competed their spring trip in Florida when the NCAA and NSIC halted all spring sport competition. WSU was 6-2 in NSIC action at that time .
NEW FACES: Tom Sanvick was named the head coach for Winona State women's tennis this past summer, following the retirement of Heather Reilly, who was the first WSU tennis coach to reach the 100-win mark. Sanvick is a long-time Winona-area tennis teaching pro and scholastic coach with Winona Area Public Schools (WAPS). For more on Coach Sanvick,
visit this link.
PRESEASON POLL: For the third straight season, Winona State was picked for third in the regular season standings in the 2021 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Perennial power Augustana Vikings were voted first and will be one of the opening opponents for WSU. Augie has won 110 consecutive NSIC regular season matches. MSU Moorhead was tabbed for second with 102 votes while the Warriors rounded out the top three 92 votes. Read more about the 2021 NSIC Tennis season
at this link.
HOME SWEET HOME: Last season, the Warriors were 3-1 at home and are 21-4 over the past four years when competing at the Winona Tennis Center.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Beth Murman was selected as the Warriors Player-to-Watch for 2021 and leads a veteran group that includes
Rina Niehoff,
Faith Young,
Brooke Holloway and
Mya Lubben as players in their final two years of eligibility. Winona State also will feature a strong sophomore class with
Audrey Delich,
Brooke Jorgensen and
Rachel Kelly, with
Sara Anderson representing the lone freshman on the team.
HIGH WARRIOR STANDARDS: In the past three academic years, the Warrior Tennis team has earned notoriety as the Winona State Athletic Team with the highest cumulative team GPA, as presented at the annual WESPY Awards. At the conclusion of the 2020 spring season, graduating senior
Kendra Kappes was named the 2020 NSIC Elite 18 winner for women's tennis and earned her second CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
For the most up to date news in Warrior Athletics, please visit:
www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and
@WinonaStateATH.
About Winona State University Athletics:
The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words:
Graduate Champions.
Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Winona State University competes as an affiliate member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in the sport of women's gymnastics.
Media Contact:
Pete Watkins, Director of Athletic Communications | Ph: 507.457.5577 | Email: pwatkins@winona.edu
