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2009 Season Review

Orange City, Iowa—After a five-year layoff, the Northwestern College women’s tennis team competed on the hard courts in the spring of 2009. Jeff Guthmiller, who coached the Red Raiders from 2000-2002, began his second stint as the head of the program with an eight-player squad this spring. With over a month of indoor practice under their belts, the Raiders were excited to begin the season in the Twin Cities against College of St. Catherine (Minn.) and Northwestern (Minn.). Northwestern came away with an 0-2 record but gained valuable experience competing in actual matches. “We wantedTeamPic to get a couple of matches under our belts,” commented Guthmiller. “Both St. Cate’s and Northwestern handed it to us pretty good but we did find some things out about ourselves that we could not in a practice situation, so overall, it was a good trip.”

Coach Guthmiller’s squad returned to practice for nearly a month before one final tune-up match against NCAA D-I University of South Dakota before conference play. The Raiders competed hard but came away with a loss against the Coyotes. T followed with a GPAC loss at Hastings but followed with their first win of the season, edging Doane, 5-4. Jess Pomerenke (Sioux City, Iowa) and Rachel Hermann (Blue Grass, Iowa) picked up key wins in singles and doubles play to seal the win. Coach Guthmiller’s squad won their second straight match with a 5-4 win over GPAC rival Dordt in their home debut.

A pair of losses followed against Morningside (6-3) and USF (7-2) but Northwestern shut out GPAC foe Briar Cliff, 5-0, to remain in the hunt for postseason play with three conference matches remaining. The Raiders, however, lost to eventual GPAC champion Nebraska Wesleyan, third-place Concordia and were edged out by Midland Lutheran, 5-4, in their home finale. Eliminated from postseason play, Coach Guthmiller’s squad defeated Buena Vista (Iowa) 5-4 in their final match of the season. They finished league play in seventh place with a 3-6 record, 4-9 overall. “One of our goals was to make the conference tournament,” commented Guthmiller. “We fell just short of that but we did continue to get better as the year progressed. Looking back on the season, I was happy how the team improved and competed. The year set a good foundation for the future.”

NessaThree players earned all-conference honors, led by sophomore Nessa Summers (Aplington, Iowa), who led the Raiders with a 6-3 record at #6 singles. Kate Mannenbach (Rochester, Minn.) and Jessica Pomerenke (Sioux City, Iowa) were named honorable mention after posting a 6-5 record at #3 doubles. Pomerenke also earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors and recorded a 4-9 singles mark. In addition, Guthmiller’s squad was one of 12 Red Raider teams that earned NAIA Scholar Team accolades.