Saints Split in Tennis

The St. Scholastica women’s tennis team dropped its first-ever Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season dual match on Saturday with a 6-3 defeat to the University of Northwestern at the Lakeville Lifetime Fitness.

Prior to today, the Saints had never lost a UMAC dual match with a perfect 113-0 record, dating back to 1997. It is the second-longest known streak in NCAA Division III, behind The College of New Jersey (154-0), which is still active.

The Saints got off to a good start as the No. 3 doubles team of Katie Kingston (Virginia, Minn./Virginia HS) and Allie Carlson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin HS) won 8-1. CSS then suffered a close loss at No. 2 doubles in a tiebreaker 9-8 (10-8). The Eagles then won at No. 1 singles 8-6.

The Eagles then won the first three singles matches to finish, taking the match with five victories. Jessica Solberg (Bemidji, Minn. /Bemidji HS) would come away with a close win at No. 3 singles by scores of 6-2, 2-6, (10-5). Aleksandra Ochrymowicz (Winnipeg, Manitoba/St. Mary’s Academy) also won in straight sets 6-0, 6-0 for CSS’s final win of the day.

The Saints (9-6, 2-1 UMAC) will be back at home next Friday when they host the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire at the Arrowhead Tennis Center.

The St. Scholastica men’s tennis team won its eighth straight match with a 9-0 victory over the University of Northwestern on Saturday.

The No. 3 doubles team of Logan Engelstad (Thief River Falls, Minn./Lincoln HS) and Jake Tideman (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) started things off with an 8-1 win.

Giving the Saints their second win of the day, the No. 2 doubles team of Cullen Combs (White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) and Nick Lambrecht (Stacy, Minn./North Branch HS (Minn.-Duluth)) won 8-4.

Finishing off doubles play, the No. 1 doubles team Josh Stainer (Portsmouth, England/South Downs College) and James Mack (Portsmouth, England/Cams Hill School) won 8-3 putting the Saints ahead 3-0.

Starting singles play, Engelstad finished first in the No. 4 spot with a 6-0, 6-2 victory. Mike Fontana (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing HS (Gustavus Adolphus)) added another victory by winning in the No. 5 spot 6-1, 6-0.

Stainer won in the No. 1 spot 6-2, 7-5, while Lambrecht pushed the Saints ahead 7-0 by winning 6-2, 6-0 in the No. 3 spot.

No. 2 singles player, Mack won 6-1, 6-1. Tideman in the No. 6 spot finished the day off by winning 6-2, 6-1.

The Saints (12-3, 3-0 UMAC) will be back in action tomorrow at home against Saint John’s University in non-conference action. Play is scheduled to begin at noon at the Arrowhead Tennis Center.