No. 1 Regional-ranked women's tennis team falls to St. Cloud

After a flawless season, the Augustana women's tennis team met its match against the St. Cloud State University Huskies at the NSIC women's tennis championships in Minneapolis, Minn., April 24-25.

The Vikings defeated University of Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota State-Mankato without dropping a set in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds before they experienced their first loss of the season when they went 2-5 against St. Cloud State.

''St. Cloud was our biggest concern because we beat them in the regular season and they did not want to lose to us twice, but we knew that we couldn't overlook Mankato because they're a team that seems to find a way to win matches against anyone,'' junior and No. 5 singles Emily Johnson said.

The team tried not to let their undefeated record get in the way of the tournament and cause the weekend to be stressful. Instead, the players upheld the positive attitude that helped them achieve their perfect record and substituted stress with confidence.

''Everyone was excited for this weekend,'' sophomore and No. 6 singles Adrienne Conley said. ''It's what we had been working toward all year.''

Acknowledging their strengths, the women hoped to win at least two, if not all three, of their doubles matches against the Huskies in hopes to keep the momentum going into the singles matches.

The Vikings won one of the team's three doubles matches against St. Cloud State with the No. 1 doubles tandem of junior and No. 1 singles junior Brittany Gaster and Conley taking the win in a tiebreaker.

Conley was also successful as the Vikings' singles win against the Huskies when she took the No. 6 singles at 6-3, 6-2. Johnson was leading the No. 5 singles at 6-3, 2-6, 4-2, but had to stop play when the match was called after the Huskies reached their five wins.

''It felt especially good to win the doubles match against St. Cloud because we were down 1-6 at one point, but then fought our way back to win in a tiebreaker,'' Conley said. ''I didn't feel any pressure to win. I fought for each of my matches, and I knew that my teammates were doing the same.''

Having had the best season in the history of Augustana women's tennis, the Vikings are focusing on their accomplishments, rather than the disappointment.

''We put a lot of time in on the tennis courts this season, and I think it showed,'' Johnson said. ''Our team is really close. We know each other very well. We're all really comfortable with each other, and I think that's helped us when we've needed to support someone in a close match.''

Ranked No. 1 in the region, the women's tennis team is focusing on their successes and the matches that reflect their best play, such as their close win against St. Michael's College during the Orlando spring break tournament.

These memories, and a few crossed fingers, will keep the regular season champions motivated as they wait to see if they qualify for the NCAA Central Regional Tournament set to occur May 6-8.

''We had a great regular season, and I think that we can come back and play hard in Regionals,'' Conley said.