Morningside at Northwestern

• PREVIEW
• BOXSCORE

The Event... The Northwestern College women's tennis team is scheduled to play a pair of home matches this week as they host Morningside (Tuesday) and Briar Cliff (Wednesday) in conference matches beginning at 4:00 pm. The Red Raiders are 2-4 in the GPAC, 2-9 overall. Morningside has lost three straight matches and is in fifth place in the GPAC with a 3-3 mark, 3-7 overall. Briar Cliff is 0-7 in the GPAC.

Last Year's Results... Morningside defeated Northwesten 6-3 last year in Sioux City, Iowa. The complete results are listed below:
        Singles:
           Laura Gildemeister (M) def. Julie Mineart, 6-3, 6-1.
           Kate Nelson (M) def. Lisa Wiltjer, 6-1, 6-0.
           Marisa Graham (M) def. Jessica Pomerenke, 6-3, 3-6, 11-9.
           Rachel Hermann (N) def. Erin Koskovich, 5-7, 6-4, 10-5.
           Lynn Leonard (M) def. Jen Gieselman, 6-3, 6-3.
           Nessa Summers (N) def. Shannon Schroeder, 6-1, 6-1.
       Doubles:
          Gildemeister-Nelson (M) def. Mineart-Gieselman, 8-2.
          Graham-Leonard (M) def. Hermann-Laura Starr, 8-2.
           Pomerenke-Kate Nannenbach (N) def. Schroeder-Kassie Hein, 8-2.

   Northwestern def. Briar Cliff 5-0 in a rain-shortened match last year:
       Singles:
          #3 Jessica Pomerenke (4-5) def. Harper Phillips, 6-0, 6-0
          #4 Rachel Hermann (3-6) def. Kayla Phillips, 6-0, 6-0
       Doubles:
         #1 Julie Mineart/Jen Gieselman (1-3) def. Kachena/Colman, 8-4
         #2 Hermann/Laura Starr (2-5) def. Phillips/Phillips, 8-1
         #3 Pomerenke/Kate Mannenbach (5-3) def. Robinson/Hogeboom, 8-0

Last Time Out... Morningside lost a pair of GPAC matches last Saturday, falling to Hastings (8-1) and Concordia (9-0). Brit DeVisser picked up the only win for the Mustangs in the two matches as she defeated Katie Armstrong (Hastings) 6-3, 6-1 at #3 singles.

Briar Cliff lost its seventh straight match last Saturday afternoon when they were defeated by Midland Lutheran 6-3. Emily Coleman picked up a win at #5 singles (6-1,0-6, 10-7). The other two Charger wins were by forfeit.

Northwestern lost to USF last week in a GPAC match, 9-0. Jessica Pomerenke and Kellie Korver lost a thrilling tie-break match at #2 doubles, 8-9 (5-7). The loss snapped the pair's four match win streak and slipped their record to 4-7. Nessa Summers and Bobbie Lydick lost at #5 and #6 singles, respectively. Summers (4-5)  lost 2-6, 3-6 at #5 while Lydick (4-7) lost 3-6, 2-6 at #6.

Scouting the Mustangs... Morningside comes into today on a three match losing streak and in fifth place in the GPAC with a 3-3 record. They are 3-7 overall. The Mustangs opened the season with non-conference losses to Southwest Minnesota State (8-1), Baker (6-3), Lincoln (9-0) and Missouri Western (6-3). Since then, they have defeated GPAC foes Briar Cliff (9-0), Doane and Midland Lutheran but lost to Hastings, Concordia and USF. Head coach Larry Mason, in his third year back as the head of the tennis program, returns five players off last year's squad that finished fifth in the GPAC with a 5-4 record, 5-7 overall.

Leading the Mustangs is sophomore Kassie Hein who sports a 6-3 record, mainly in the fifth or sixth spot. Freshman Dani Bies is 4-5 in singles play and also boasts a 3-4 record along with partner Shannon Schroeder at #3 doubles. Junior Marisa Graham is 3-6 at #3 singles after earning all-conference honors last year. She is 2-7 at #2 doubles along with partner Lynn Leonard. Britt de Visser (4-6), Leonard (4-6) and Kate Nelson (2-8) round out the probable singles' line-up.

Scouting BCU... The Chargers are 0-7 in the conference with one match left to play. Their closest matches were to Doane (7-2) and Midland Lutheran (6-3). Head coach Nabil Sorathia is in his first season at the helm.

Last year, BCU went 0-11 and returns four players off the 2009 sqaud. Freshman Lauren Laferla is 1-6 at #4 singles and Emily Coleman is 1-5 at #5 singles for the Chargers.

Red Raider Notes...Northwestern is currently in sixth place in the GPAC with a 2-4 record, 2-9 overall with two matches left to play. With a win against either Morningside or BCU, the Red Raiders clinch a berth in the six-team conference tournament next week. If they win both matches, they will overtake Morningside for the fifth seed. Head coach Jeff Guthmiller is in his second season back as the head of the women's tennis program. Six players return off last year's squad that finished seventh in the GPAC with a 3-6 record.

Jessica Pomerenke, Nessa Summers and Bobbie Lydick lead the Raiders with four wins' each in singles' play. Pomerenke, an honorable mention all-GPAC pick in doubles last year, is 4-7 at the #2 or #3 singles spot this year. Summers, a first team all-GPAC pick in 2009, is 4-5 in #5 singles' play. Lydick is 4-7 at the #6 singles' spot. Pomerenke and Kellie Korver have a team-best four win in doubles. Julie Mineart and Jennifer Jansen are 3-7 at the #1 spot, followed by Laura Starr and Kate Mannenbach are 2-5 at #3 doubles.

Up Next... This will conclude regular season play for the Red Raiders. The top six teams in the GPAC advance to play in the GPAC postseason tournament which will be played on May 7-8 in Fremont, Neb.