Dillon Hogan/ Winonan
As the season nears its end, the Winona State University women’s tennis team continues playing its conference schedule. After a weekend off, the Warriors were back in action against MSU Moorhead and the University of Mary, looking to snap a five game losing streak.
Traveling to Fargo, N.D., the first match on the Warrior’s docket was MSU Moorhead. Winona State fell by a score of 8-1.
The Warriors found themselves in a hole before the game started. With one less player, Winona State dropped a game in both singles and doubles by default.
The lone Warrior win came from the doubles pairing of Brianna Havelka and Justine Daane, who beat Andrea Rognlien and Morgan Smith of Moorhead by a score of 8-6.
In the other doubles match, Ashley Wood and Jessamy Jones of Moorhead beat Katie Scruggs and Ellyn Grossen with an 8-2 score.
During the singles matches the Warriors were unable to get a win, dropping all six matches. In the top two spots, Havelka and Daane fell to Rognlien and Jones with identical scores of 6-4 and 6-2.
Playing in the third spot was Scruggs, who lost to Morgan Smith 6-3 and 6-0.
Grossen and Lauren Willkom rounded out the fourth and fifth spots with losses of 6-2, 6-2 and 6-0, 6-2, respectively.
Before the games head coach Heather Pierce said, “All we can do is continue to prepare in practices. We are starting this match short a player so we are already going to be behind right out of the gate. It’s still about mentally preparing ourselves so that we can rise to the occasion.”
Squaring off against the University of Mary on Sunday, the Warriors fell by a closer margin of 3-6.
A couple of Warriors recorded victories in singles play while the third victory came in doubles play.
Havelka defeated Sarah Janes of Mary 6-5 in the top single spot and Daane later added a second single win with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Catherine Gibbens.
In doubles competition, the duo of Havelka and Daane took care of Janes and Gibbens by a score of 8-3.
The loss marked the seventh straight defeat for the Warriors, who fell to 6-10 on the season. Winona State also holds a 5-6 record in the NSIC with no more conference games remaining. The final two regular season games will see the Warriors take on Luther College and St. Norbert.
On Friday April 17, the Warriors will make the trip to Decorah, Iowa, to take on Luther, only to return the next day for a home matchup against St. Norbert.
Following these two games the Warriors will be in line to participate in the NSIC Conference Tournament. To qualify for the tournament, the Warriors need to be one of the top eight teams record wise in the conference. As of April 12, the Warriors are currently in seventh place in the conference.
The tournament is a normal bracket setup, with winners advancing and losers being eliminated. The overall winner of the NSIC Tournament will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. The NSIC Tournament will take place on Saturday, April 25 and continue until Sunday, April 26, with all games taking place in Minnetonka, Minn.
