Northwestern at SW Minnesota State

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The Event... The Northwestern College tennis team opens the 2010 season this weekend as they head north to play Southwest Minnesota State on Friday in St. Cloud, Minn. followed by a match against Bethel (Minn.) in the Twin Cities on Saturday. Friday's match is scheduled for 6:00 pm and Saturday's match is at 2:00pm.

All-Time Records... Northwestern is 0-1 all-time against Southwest Minnesota State, losing to the Mustangs in 2002.

About the Mustangs... Southwest Minnesota State has played in three matches already this season. The post a 1-2 record with losses to Minnesota State and the University of South Dakota and a win over Morningside. In their 8-1 win over Morningside on Feb. 20, SWMS won five of the six singles' matches and swept all three in doubles play. Freshman Lissa Murekami needed little time in her 6-2, 6-0 win at number one singles. She improved to 3-0 this season. Danielle Hildebrandt, Trisha Baldwin, Cailey Grupe and Angie Wiegmann all won their singles matches in straight sets as well.

The longest tenured coach currently on staff at SMSU, George Seldat enters his 16th season as head tennis coach of the Mustangs in 2010. Seldat has compiled a 76-146 overall record at SMSU. Last season, he coached the Mustangs to an overall record of 8-14 and 5-6 mark in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

The 2010 roster features two seniors in Danielle Hildebrandt and Amy Daniels who have been a mainstay in the SMSU lineup throughout their careers, making waves in both singles and doubles play. Hildebrandt is 1-2 so far this season at the second spot while Daniels is 3-3 in singles. Freshman Lissa Murekami leads the Mustangs with a 3-0 record and plays the number one spot in both singles and doubles. Junior Trisha Baldwin owns a 4-1 overall record, 3-0 at #4 singles.

About the Royals... Bethel comes into the weekend with an 0-3 record, losing to St. Olaf, St. Catherine and nationally-ranked Carleton on Feb. 20. Although Carleton beat Bethel 8-1, the Royals played hard and made Carleton earn their victory. In singles competition, Carleton won all six matches, but Krista Nauman won seven games against her opponent and Ashley Watts won five games against her opponent. In doubles competition, Nauman and Watts defeated their opponents 8-5 to put the Royals on the scoreboard.

Head Coach Dan Morton returns for his 11th season with the Royals. He guided Bethel to a 2-14 record in 2009, 0-10 in the MIAC. Despite losing their #1 singles player in Kristin Kishaba, the Royals remain balanced as a blend of veteran returners as well as some new faces will take the court this year. In her first year on the team, Carrie Kishaba looks to be a key factor on the 2010 team, as will freshmen Lisa Scheevel and Stephanie Brown. Returning are Heather Blair, Ashley Dohlen, and Ashley Watts.

Red Raider News and Notes...Head Coach Jeff Guthmiller returns for his second consecutive and fifth overall season with the Red Raider women's tennis program. Guthmiller is 32-29 during his tenure with two second place conference finishes and two regional tournament berths. Last year, he guided the Raiders to a seventh place finish in the GPAC with a 3-6 record, 4-9 overall. He returns five players off that squad.

Leading the list of letterwinners returning is senior Jessica Pomerenke who finished with a 4-9 singles record, mainly at the third spot. She also teamed with junior Kate Mannenbach at #3 doubles and posted a 7-6 record that earned the pair honorable mention all-conference honors. Juniors Laura Starr and Nessa Summers also return and will provide valuable court experience for Coach Guthmiller's squad. Mainly a double's player, Starr posted an 0-2 record in singles. She finished with a 2-11 overall doubles' record. Summers earned honorable mention all-GPAC honors at #6 singles with a team-best 6-3 record. Sophomore Julie Mineart returns as the top Raider player. She posted a 2-9 record at #1 singles and 2-11 at #1 doubles. A host of newcomers could also contribute this season, including freshmen Jennifer Jansen and Kellie Korver.

Up Next... The Raiders will not play again until March 27 when they open conference play against Nebraska Wesleyan and Hastings in Lincoln, Neb.