NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's tennis team has earned the No. 6 seed in the
2021 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Women's Tennis Playoffs and will take on No. 3 seed Macalester College in the quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon.
St. Olaf (4-5, 4-5 MIAC) secured the No. 6 seed and will hit the road to play the third-seeded Scots (7-2, 7-2 MIAC) at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5 at Lakeville Life Time Fitness. Wednesday afternoon's other quarterfinal will see No. 5 seed St. Kate's (8-4, 5-4 MIAC) travel to No. 4 seed Bethel (9-6, 6-3 MIAC) at 3:30 p.m. St. Thomas (11-3, 9-0 MIAC) and Gustavus (15-1, 8-1 MIAC) secured the top two seeds in the tournament and byes into the semifinals.
Head coach
Scott Nesbit's team will make its 12th appearance in the MIAC Playoffs, which began in 2007. The Oles have only missed the tournament twice (2017, 2018) and have twice finished as the runner-up (2009, 2010).
St. Olaf is 9-11 all-time in the MIAC Playoffs and, as the No. 6 seed, bowed out in the quarterfinals to No. 3 seed Bethel, 5-0, when the tournament was last held in 2019. The Oles and Scots have never meet in the postseason, as Macalester is making its third appearance in the tournament (2008, 2018, 2021).
The Scots won the regular-season meeting between the two teams by a 6-3 margin indoors on Tuesday, April 27 at Life Time Fitness in Lakeville. Wins from
Sabrina Barboza/
Allie Prokosch and
Greta Prokosch/
Emily Otteson gave St. Olaf a 2-1 lead after doubles, but Macalester went on to claim five singles victories to its fourth-straight win in the series between the two programs.
The Oles enter the playoffs having won two of their last three matches, defeating Saint Ben's, 6-3, and Concordia-Moorhead, 8-1, on either side of the loss to the Scots. The No. 1 doubles pairing of Barboza/
Allie Prokosch has won its last four matches and is 6-3 this spring, while the No. 2 tandem of
Greta Prokosch/Otteson has won three matches in a row and is 7-2 this season.
In singles,
Greta Prokosch finished the regular season a team-best 7-2 overall and carries a four-match winning streak into the postseason. Prokosch and Otteson, who is 6-3 this season in singles, split time between No. 3 and No. 4 singles this season.
