DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's tennis team begins its season this weekend with a home match against intra-city rival University of Minnesota-Duluth on Friday and Concordia College-Moorhead on Saturday.
Where:
Friday
Arrowhead Tennis Center – Duluth, Minn.
Saturday
Courts Plus – Fargo, N.D.
When:
Friday vs. Minnesota-Duluth – 7 p.m.
Saturday at Concordia-Moorhead – 5:30 p.m.
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/CSSsaints
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/csssaints
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/css.saints
St. Scholastica Saints
Roster | 2016 Stats
2016 Record: 19-7, 10-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Key Returners:
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Madeleine Scanlan (St. Albans, England /Loreto College) – Three-time All-UMAC selection … Was second on the team with 18 singles victories and 19 doubles wins … All 19 doubles wins were at the No. 1 spot paired with Solberg
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Jessica Solberg (Bemidji, Minn. /Bemidji HS) – Two-time All-UMAC selection … Won a team-high 20 doubles matches … Paired with Scanlan to win 19 matches
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Elise Hauer (Duluth, Minn. /Duluth East HS) – All-UMAC choice last season … Won 11 singles matches at the No. 3 flight … Won 14 doubles matches at the No. 2 flight.
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Sarah Coryell (Golden Valley, Minn. /Armstrong HS) – All-UMAC selection last season … Led the team with 25 singles wins, which was the second-most in a single-season in program history.
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Daniela Rojas (Monterrey, Mexico /Universidad Tecmilenio) – Two-time All-UMAC selection … Was 6-0 at the No. 3 singles flight … Won 12 doubles matches at the No. 2 flight
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Miki Samz (Savage, Minn. /Burnsville HS) – All-UMAC selection in 2015 … Did not play last season due to studying abroad … Led the team with 15 doubles victories in 2015.
Key Losses:
-None
Coach Patten: Head Coach
Wells Patten enters his 21
st season guiding the women's tennis team … Under Patten's direction, the Saints have won 19 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season championships and 17 UMAC Tournament titles … Coach Patten has produced nine UMAC Player of the Year athletes in the past 13 years … He has been named UMAC Women's Coach of the Year 11 times, including last season.
NCAA Tournament Appearance: The Saints made their fifth NCAA Division III Tournament appearance last season, despite not winning the UMAC Tournament title for the second straight season … CSS saw its season end to No. 21 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the first round of the tournament …
Katelyn Rice (Eveleth, Minn. /Eveleth-Gilbert HS) picked up the team's lone win against the Warhawks.
Win Streak: Junior
Sarah Coryell (Golden Valley, Minn. /Armstrong HS) has won 16 straight singles matches entering this weekend … Coryell won 13 straight at the end of the last season and it was going to be 14 in the NCAA Tournament against UW-Whitewater, but her matched ended with her a game away from taking the match due to Whitewater reaching the five points to clinch the dual … Then this fall at the Gustie Fall Invite, Coryell went 3-0 in singles play.
Close to a Milestone: Senior
Madeleine Scanlan (St. Albans, England /Loreto College) is four singles wins and two doubles victories shy of becoming the third player in program history to record at least 50 singles and 50 doubles wins in a career.
Top 5 Matches to Watch
2/5 – vs. Minnesota-Duluth
Coach Patten will face former Saint and UMD Head Coach Jessica (Rich) Worden in the season opener.
2/18 vs. Gustavus Adolphus
The Gusties shared the MIAC regular season title and won the MIAC Tournament last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament
3/4 – vs. Luther (Iowa)
The Norse won the IIAC regular season title in the fall … CSS' lone NCAA Tournament victory came against Luther.
3/25 – vs. Northwestern
The Saints swept the Eagles during the regular season, but Northwestern defeated the Saints in the UMAC Tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
3/26 – vs. UW-La Crosse
The Eagles finished second in the WIAC in the fall.
Upcoming Opponents
Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs
2016 Record: 3-14, 3-8 NSIC
Former Saint Jessica (Rich) Worden enters her second season as the Bulldogs' head coach … UMD placed ninth in the 12-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) last season … The Bulldogs return Shelby Benkofske, who won three matches at the No. 1 singles spot last season … The lone senior on the squad Drew DeCorsey is also back … Benkofske and DeCorsey won five matches as a pair at the No. 1 doubles spot.
Concordia Cobbers
2016 Record: 0-16, 0-10 MIAC
The Cobbers will be guided by new head coach Joseph Murray … Murray was an assistant last season for Concordia … The Cobbers were winless last season … Junior Kendra Stroik returns after winning the lone singles match of the season … Stroik teamed with fellow returnee Lisa Neumann for the team's lone doubles win.
Series Records:
-CSS is tied with UMD 8-8
(Last Meeting: 7-2 CSS – 2/5/2016)
-CSS leads Concordia 6-4
(Last Meeting: 9-0 CSS – 3/6/2016)
Series Histories: The Saints have won the last eight meetings against their College Street foe … UMD won the first eight meetings in the series … CSS has not dropped more than two individual matches in each of the last four meetings /// St. Scholastica has won four straight against Concordia-Moorhead, all by 9-0 scores … The Saints are 6-1 against the Cobbers in the 21
st century.
Looking Ahead: The Saints will begin conference play when they host North Central University (Minn.) at the Arrowhead Tennis Center on Saturday, February 4.
