Saint Men & Women win in Tennis

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

Photos By: Nicole Cooke

The University of Minnesota Duluth launched its 2015 tennis season Sunday morning against a familiar foe — the College of St. Scholastica — and fell 7-2 at the facility the two crosstown rivals call home (the Arrowhead Tennis and Athletic Center).

UMD got singles victories from freshman Shelby Benkofske (6-3, 6-1 over Daniela Rojas at No. 4) and sophomore Kaitlin Wohnoutka (6-2, 6-3 over Miki Samz at No. 5), who improved her career singles record to 6-5. Sophomore Drew DeCorsey took the Saint’s Katie Kingston to a tiebreaker at No. 3, before succumbing 10-6.

Saturday’s non-conference match marked the collegiate debuts of two other UMD newcomers — Jillian Klasen (No. 6 singles) and Kelsey Zetah (No. 3 doubles with junior Bailey Kolles) as well as the return of senior captain Alyssa Brunelli, who sat out all of last year with a knee injury. Brunelli lost in straight sets at No. 1 singles and teammed with Kara Saemann, the Bulldogs’ lone other senior, at No. 1 doubles.

“I liked what I saw from a couple of our doubles teams and about half of our singles players — lots of bright spots,” said UMD head coach Bob Skenzich. “Some of the freshmen stepped up in their first collegiate matches and a few struggled. I thought Shelby, Kaitlin and Drew all played great. What we lacked today was overall consistency, but hopefully we can correct that.”

DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women’s tennis team dropped only five games total in a sweep of Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) foe North Central University in the season opener Saturday at the Arrowhead Tennis Center.

In doubles, the No. 2 team of Alexis Gunderson (Virginia, Minn./Virginia HS) and Sarah Coryell (Golden Valley, Minn. /Armstrong HS), along with the No. 3 team of Olivia Bretting (Ashland, Wis. /Ashland HS ) and Miki Samz (Savage, Minn. /Burnsville HS), each shut out their opponents 8-0. The No. 1 team of Madeleine Scanlan (St. Albans, England /Loreto College) and Daniela Rojas (Monterrey, Mexico /Universidad Tecmilenio) won 8-1.

In singles action, it was Scanlan (No. 2), Samz (No. 4) and Halle Nystrom (Fargo, N.D. /Fargo North HS) (No. 6) all blanking their opponents 6-0, 6-0.

Gunderson won 6-0, 6-2 at the No. 1 spot, while Coryell was a 6-1, 6-0 winner at the No. 5 position. The final singles win came from Rojas at No. 3 by scores of 6-0, 6-1.

DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men’s tennis team began its 2015 season on Saturday with 9-0 victory over conference opponent North Central University at the Arrowhead Tennis Center.

In doubles action, the No. 1 team of Josh Stainer (Portsmouth, England/South Downs College) and James Mack (Portsmouth, England/Cams Hill School) won 8-0. The No. 2 duo of Tyler Bates (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Tech) and Cody Mauston (Virginia, Minn./Virginia HS) won 8-1. The No. 3 team of Taylor Grow (Minnetonka, Minn./Minneapolis Southwest HS) and Trace Combs (White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) also won by the same 8-1 score.

Logan Engelstad (Thief River Falls, Minn./Lincoln HS) would play at the No. 1 spot in singles and beat his opponent 6-1, 6-1. Those would be the same scores for Mike Fontana (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing HS (Gustavus Adolphus)) at the No. 2 position.

At No. 3, Dan Mauro (Thunder Bay, Ontario/St. Ignatius HS) won 6-3, 6-0. Jordan Lindholm (Mt. Iron, Minn./Virginia HS) came out on top at No. 4 by scores of 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. Matt Tellander (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids HS) blanked his opponent at No. 5. The final winner on the day was Zach Meikle (La Salle, Manitoba/Linden Christian School) at No. 6 by scores of 6-2, 6-2.

The Saints will be in action again tomorrow when it travels to face Carleton College at 12:30 p.m. at Life Time Fitness in Lakeville, Minnesota.

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