NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The fifth-seeded St. Olaf College women's tennis team will take on top-seeded and undefeated Carleton College in the semifinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs on Friday afternoon.

St. Olaf (9-7) advanced to the semifinals for the ninth time in program history by edging fourth-seeded Macalester College by a 5-3 score in the quarterfinals on Wednesday in St. Paul. The win, coupled with third-seeded Bethel University's win over the sixth-seeded College of Saint Benedict, set up a matchup between the Oles and Knights on Friday at 5 p.m. at West Hills Tennis and Fitness Center in Owatonna.

Friday's other semifinal pits third-seeded Bethel at second-seeded Gustavus Adolphus College after the Royals snuck past Saint Ben's by a 5-4 score on Wednesday. The Royals overcame a 2-1 deficit after doubles by winning the top-four singles matches, including three-set victories at No. 1 and No. 3 singles to advance to meet the Gusties in the semifinals.

The winners of Friday's semifinal matches will meet to decide the MIAC Playoffs champion on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the site of the highest remaining seed. The winner will receive the MIAC Playoffs championship plaque and the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship.

In Wednesday's quarterfinal, St. Olaf avenged a 5-4 regular-season loss eight days earlier to Macalester by winning two of the three doubles matches an three of the five singles matches that finished before the match was decided. Sophomores Olha Zubarieva and Fiona O'Flaherty were both victorious in singles and doubles for the Oles, with Zubarieva providing the clinching fifth point with a tight straight-set win at No. 1 singles.

Carleton enters the MIAC Playoffs with an unblemished 18-0 record that includes a 10-0 run through the conference regular season to earn its sixth MIAC title in the last 12 years (ninth overall). The Knights have appeared in the MIAC Playoffs in each of the 15 seasons they have competed since the start of the tournament in 2007 (the tournament was not held in 2019-20 and Carleton opted out of competing in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

St. Olaf's win over Macalester was its 11th all-time victory in the MIAC Playoffs and marked the ninth time in 14 appearances that the Oles have won at least one match in the tournament. The Oles and Knights have met four times previously in the MIAC Playoffs (2009, 2010, 2011, 2016), with all four coming in the semifinals. St. Olaf won the first two encounters by scores of 5-4 and 5-3, but Carleton has won the last two by scores of 5-3 and 5-2.

In the regular-season meeting between the crosstown rivals, Carleton picked up a 9-0 victory over St. Olaf at Carlson Courts on April 10, winning all three of the doubles matches by at least four games and claiming five straight-set victories in the singles sweep. The Knights have won the last 13 head-to-head meetings in the series since St. Olaf's 5-3 victory in the semifinals of the 2010 MIAC Playoffs.