Winona, Minn. - On Sunday, April 18, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) announced the bracket pairings for the 2021 Women's Tennis Championship Tournament, to be held at Match Pointe in Sioux Falls, S.D. on April 23-24.
For the Winona State University women's tennis team, the tournament will open with the Warriors taking on the University of Minnesota Duluth in the first match of the competition. Doubles play against the Bulldogs starts at 9am on Friday, followed by singles matches. WSU (11-3 / 9-2 NSIC) earned the second seed for the tournament while UMD (5-6 / 5-6 NSIC) is the seventh seed.
The Warriors, under first-year head coach
Tom Sanvik, finished the regular season winning their last seven matches in a row, and have claimed victories in ten of their last 11 competitions.
In NSIC play, only #25 Augustana (15-2 / 11-0 NSIC) and MSU-Moorhead (8-3 / 8-3 NSIC) beat the Warriors in 2021. Augustana has won the past nine NSIC Tournament Championships; Winona State last claimed the trophy in 2008 and had won the NSIC post-season title each season between 2005 and 2008. MSU Moorhead has yet to win a NSIC Tournament Championship but has finished in the top three teams during the regular season every year since 2018.
Winona State has benefited from a consistent lineup throughout the course of the season, as the core of the team has played in the same singles and doubles levels for the majority of the 2021 campaign.
At the top of the list,
Beth Murman has earned an impressive 10-4 record at No. 1 singles for Winona State and heads into the NSIC Championship Tournament at 9-1 in her last ten outings. In doubles play, Murman has paired with
Audrey Delich or
Brooke Jorgensen in most matches. In doubles action, Murman has gone 7-7 along the way. The was named NSIC Player of the Week in women's tennis on Monday, March 22.
Another Warrior who earned a Player of the Week nod from the NSIC,
Rachel Kelly, has continued to excel throughout the season for Sanvik and Winona State. Kelly has gone 13-1 overall this past season, playing exclusively at No. 2 singles. Kelly has gone to three sets or tiebreakers on three occasions in 2021; in those tightly contested matchups, she has won each time.
Rina Niehoff has also provided a stable and consistent presence for the Warriors, owning the No. 3 singles spot for the season. At No. 3, Niehoff has gone 12-2, an impressive .857 winning percentage. In doubles, she has been even more dominant, partnering with
Rachel Kelly for a 13-1 doubles mark.
Audrey Delich and
Brooke Jorgensen have each played in the No. 4 singles role for WSU, where the Warriors are 7-7 on the season. The No. 5 singles spot has seen both Jorgensen and freshman
Sara Anderson take the court for Winona State, registering an 8-6 record.
In No. 6 singles, Winona State boasts a 10-4 mark compiled by three different players.
Faith Young,
Brooke Holloway and Anderson have each claimed multiple wins at No. 6, with Anderson achieving the most at 5-2 overall. Young also teamed up with
Mya Lubben for a 6-0 win over MSU-Mankato at No. 3 doubles on March 27.
The path to the hardware is predicated on a Warrior win in the first round against UMD, as this year's NSIC Women's Tennis Championship is a single-elimination event. Head coach
Tom Sanvik and the Warriors hope to earn the right to most likely face Augustana in the championship. The Vikings are currently riding a NSIC 129-match winning streak having last lost on April 19, 2009 to MSU-Mankato.
However, WSU will first have to replicate their recent success against the Bulldogs, having beat UMD 5-2 two weeks ago, and then would be matched with the winner of the Minnesota State – Moorhead / University of Sioux Falls. MSU-Moorhead dealt the Warriors one of their two NSIC setbacks this year, while USF fell to WSU 5-2 on February 12. The Cougars – Warriors matches were some of the closest of the year for WSU, as only the No. 1 singles level resulting in a comfortable win for the Warriors.
For more on the 2021 NSIC Women's Tennis Championships,
please click here.
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.
