NAC Women’s Tennis Championships begin Saturday at Madison
Courtesy of Edgewood College, Sports Information Department
MADISON, Wis. -- For the third consecutive year Edgewood College will serve as host to the Northern Athletics Conference women's tennis championships. The tournament will take place Saturday and Sunday October 4-5 at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison.
For the first time, the NAC will be eligible for automatic NCAA postseason berths in 2008-09. The champion earns the right to represent the NAC in the NCAA tournament in early May. Also at stake is the NAC championship trophy and title of NAC 2008 Women's Tennis Championships.
Favored this year are Concordia University Wisconsin, the 2006 and 2007 NAC champion, Edgewood College, who just finished an undefeated NAC dual match regular season, and upstart Aurora University, who went 9-1 through the dual match portion of the schedule.
Aurora University comes in looking to improve upon its sixth place finish in 2007. Beating Concordia Wisconsin during the regular season has given Aurora University a great deal of confidence entering tournament play. Aurora University is lead by No. 1 singles player Lauren Hastings who is 5-2 in the NAC through September 27.
Benedictine University enters tournament play with the goal of bettering their eighth place finish in 2007. Through September 27, Benedictine University owns a NAC record of 26-28 in singles and 12-15 in doubles. Maggie Kane is the projected No. 1 singles player. She has a record of 4-4 in the NAC through September 27.
Concordia University Chicago has struggled in NAC play with a record of 2-6 as of last weekend. The Cougars look to improve upon their seventh place finish in 2007. Concordia Chicago's No. 1 singles player is Colleen Mullaney, who finished eighth in No. 1 singles at the tournament in 2007.
Concordia University Wisconsin looks to continue their dominance in the conference tournament. The Falcons have been crowned conference champions in each of the NAC's two years of existence. Erin Henrich looks to defend her title as No.1 singles champion for a third straight year.
Dominican University would like to improve upon their fourth place finish in 2007. The Stars are having a somewhat down year with a record of 2-7 in NAC play through September 27. Julia Filipske is once again projected to be the Stars No. 1 singles player. Filipske finished fifth in No. 1 singles in 2007.
Edgewood College looks to dethrone Concordia Wisconsin and improve upon their runner-up finish in 2007. Edgewood College owns the top seed in seven of the tournament's nine flights. The Eagles sit atop the NAC with an unblemished dual match record of 10-0. Kelsey Steinhorst is projected to be the Eagle's No. 1 singles player. Steinhorst finished third in No. 2 singles in 2007.
The Lakeland College Muskies have struggled in conference play in 2008. The Muskies look to improve upon their eighth place finish in 2006. Cori Zornacki is the projected No. 1 singles player on a young and inexperienced Muskies team.
Marian University would like to finish in the top three for a second straight year. Through September 27, 2008 the Sabres are 5-4 in the NAC. Michelle Zwicky is projected as Marian University's No. 1 singles player. Zwicky finished fourth at No. 3 singles in 2006. Zwicky replaces Lani Macheel, who finished second in 2007, as the No. 1 singles player.
MSOE is having a promising year in the NAC. As of September 27, 2008, the Raiders have a conference record of 7-3. MSOE looks to use that regular season success to improve upon its ninth place finish in 2006. Martina Fialova is the projected No. 1 singles player for the Raiders. Fialova has a perfect 8-0 record in the NAC through September 27.
Rockford College hopes that they have better success in the conference tournament then they have had during the regular season. The Regents have been near the bottom of the standings in the last two conference tournaments and look reverse that trend this year. Emilia Sawras is expected to be the No. 1 singles player for Rockford College.
Wisconsin Lutheran College hopes to at least equal their runner-up finish in 2006. The Warriors finished fifth in 2007. As of September 27, 2008 Wisconsin Lutheran College is 3-5 in the NAC. Rachel Wendt is expected to be the No. 1 singles player. Wendt finished sixth in No. 2 singles in 2007.
Action begins at 9:00 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
