NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's tennis team will make its first appearance in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs since 2016 when it travels to Bethel University for a quarterfinal match on Wednesday, May 1.
The Oles finished the regular season as the No. 6 seed and will visit the No. 3-seeded Royals for a 3:30 p.m. match, barring any weather-related changes to the schedule. St. Olaf enters the MIAC Playoffs with a record of 7-7 overall and 4-6 in the MIAC, while Bethel is 18-4 overall and 8-2 in conference play.
The other quarterfinal match features No. 5 seed Saint Mary's at No. 4 seed St. Thomas and will be played at Baseline Tennis Center at the University of Minnesota. No. 1 seed Carleton will host the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals, while No. 2 seed Gustavus will host the highest remaining seed. If the Oles defeat the Royals, they will visit Carleton on Friday, May 3 at 3:30 p.m.
St. Olaf is appearing in the MIAC Playoffs for the 11th time in the 13 seasons of the conference tournament, while Bethel earned its fourth-straight and fifth overall berth. The Oles are 9-10 all-time in the MIAC Playoffs and the Royals are 2-4. Wednesday's quarterfinal will be the first head-to-head meeting between the two programs in the postseason.
Bethel won the regular-season meeting between the two teams, 9-0, at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center back on Mar. 2. After a doubles sweep, the Royals won five of the six singles matches in straight sets. Sophomore
Greta Prokosch played the lone three-set match of the day, falling 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 10-7 at No. 5 singles.
Prokosch owns a team-best 10-4 record in singles play for St. Olaf this season and is 6-4 in MIAC singles matches. Classmate
Emily Otteson is also 6-4 in MIAC play and is 9-5 overall, playing almost exclusively at No. 4 singles. Prokosch has won eight of her last 10 singles matches, while Otteson has won seven of her last nine.
Sophomore
Sabrina Barboza, who is 6-2 in her last eight singles matches, has held down the No. 1 singles spot and carries a record of 7-6 overall and 4-6 in MIAC play into the postseason. Seniors
Kellis Brandt (3-11, 2-8 MIAC) and
Ellie Bergstrand (5-9, 2-8 MIAC) have played the No. 2 and No. 3 singles spots for the Oles, while first year
Teresa Fawcett (4-6, 2-4 MIAC) has spent the bulk of the season at No. 6 singles.
In doubles, Barboza and Prokosch have been St. Olaf's No. 1 tandem, posting a mark of 7-7 overall and 4-6 in the MIAC. Bergstrand and Otteson are a team-best 8-6 overall and 5-5 in the MIAC at No. 2 doubles. Brandt and Fawcett enter the playoffs with marks of 5-8 overall and 2-7 in the MIAC at No. 3 doubles.
Three of Bethel's four losses this season have come to nationally-ranked teams (No. 29 Hope, No. 35 Carleton and No. 32 Gustavus), while the other came against NCAA Division I opponent Valparaiso. The Royals were ranked No. 11 in the Central Region in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings released on Apr. 25. Bethel's No. 1 doubles pairing of sisters Maggie and Grace Riermann is ranked No. 10 in the country.
