Women’s tennis finishes off regular season with two sweeps
After losing two straight, the Minnesota State women’s tennis team bounced back, picking up two sweeps at home to close out the regular season.
In its first match of the weekend Friday night, the Mavericks won 7-0 over the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles, dropping just one game in the doubles matches to secure a dominant win. This match marked its first time back in the Swanson Tennis Center in 11 matches.
“It’s really nice to be back home,” said head coach Tristen Bryant-Otake in a press release posted to the Maverick Athletics website. “We’ve wanted to come back and defend our home territory for a long time. I think it helped a lot that our momentum from doubles carried over into singles. The positive energy. We talk about it a lot.”
Avery Stilwell and Freia Lawrence dismantled UMC’s No. 1 doubles duo 6-0, while Chiara Carnelutti and Daria Podmogilnaia defeated the no. 2’s 6-1. Elizabeth Felderman and McKenna DeMarce also defeated UMC’s No. 3’s 6-0. The order of finish was 1,3,2 as the Mavs secured the doubles point.
In the singles, MSU took every point. Lawrence won her set 6-1 and 6-1. Carnelutti defeated her opponent 6-1 and 6-4 in her penultimate regular season match, and her final two home stands could not have gone any better.
“Chiara is our only senior and she’s a big part of our team,” Bryant-Otake said. “She brings a lot of energy and the girls look up to her. I’m looking forward to sending her out with a bang tomorrow.”
Stilwell won 6-3 and 6-0 while Podmogilnaia won 6-1 and 6-2. Felderman took down her No. 5 singles match up 6-0 and 6-3 while DeMarce won 6-0 in both sets to close out the day.
The next day, the Mavs were back on their home court for Senior Day against Bemidji State, where their lone senior shined bright, dropping just two combined games in singles and doubles.
“It was a very solid weekend for us and no better way to send out our lone senior,” said head coach Tristen Bryant-Otake. “We took care of business and had fun doing it. Ending the regular season at home is amazing for us and hopefully we can carry this momentum into the conference tournament. Chiara has been tremendous for our program in the two years she has been with us. She has been a leader, a great teammate and someone other players could look up to. I cannot thank her enough for all she has given to MSU.”
The Mavericks are currently third in the NSIC after their two sweeps, behind only Augustana and UMary and now will wait for their results to learn their placement in the NSIC Tournament.
In Saturday’s match, the Mavs won the No. 1 and 2 doubles sets, but dropped the No. 3. They still received the point, and won every singles matchup to secure the 7-0 win.
The NSIC Tournament will be held April 26-28 in Sioux Falls, S.D. The NCAA Regional Tournament is on May 6-7 before the NCAA Championships take place May 20-25.
Header Photo: The Mavericks (9-6, 7-2) finished the regular season 3-1 on their home courts and will compete next in the NSIC Quarterfinals on April 26 at Heuther Tennis Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. (Courtesy Maverick Athletics)
Write to Hayden Lee at hayden.lee@mnsu.edu