St. Cloud State Tennis Opens up Conference Play as they Travel to Grand Forks, N.D. for Two Matches

St. Cloud, Minn.- St. Cloud State Women's Tennis (0-1, 0-0 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) travel to Grand Forks, N.D. this weekend to face off against Minnesota Crookston (3-0, 0-0 NSIC) on Friday, February 16 and then Bemidji State (0-1, 0-0 NSIC) on Saturday, February 17. Friday's match is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CT and Saturday's is set for 12:00 p.m. CT.

LAST TIME OUT
St. Cloud State opened up their season last Friday as they took on Winona State. The Huskies captured the doubles with wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. The junior pairing of Maria Paz Aoki (Marcos Paz, Argentina) and Johana Brower (Sioux Falls, S.D.) took down Lainy Ristau and Elysia Beynon 6-2. Senior Maria Molitor (Delano, Minn.) and freshman Brooklyn Broadwell (Thief River Falls, Minn.) secured the doubles point for the Huskies as they earned a 7-5 victory over Ally Burger and Miranda Daulong.

Heading into singles play with a 1-0 lead, St. Cloud State would lose three of the next four matches as Winona State took a 3-2 lead. Freshman Lara-Maria Schaefer (Nuremberg, Germany) picked up her first collegiate win as she defeated Ally Burger 6-3, 6-0. Now trailing 2-3 in the match, Broadwell earned her first singles victory with a clutch 6-3, 6-4 victory over Elysia Beynon to tie the match at 3-3. The match would be decided in the No. 2 spot where junior Claudia Muñoz Perez (Tarragona, Spain) would face off against Skylar Gary. Muñoz Perez took the first set with a 6-3 victory. Gary would bounce back and take the second set 2-6. Gary would maintain her momentum and win the final set 10-6 to secure a 4-3 victory for the Warriors.

Results- Winona State 4, St. Cloud State 3
Doubles

Sara Anderson & Skylar Gary (WSU) def. Claudia Muñoz Perez & Lara-Maria Schaefer (SCSU): 6-1
Maria Paz Aoki & Johana Brower(SCSU) def. Lainy Ristau & Elysia Beynon (WSU): 6-2
Maria Molitor & Brooklyn Broadwell (SCSU) def. Ally Burger & Miranda Dauglong (WSU): 7-5

Singles

Sara Anderson (WSU) def. Maria Paz Aoki (SCSU): 6-3, 6-4
Skylar Gary (WSU) def. Claudia Muñoz Perez(SCSU): 3-6, 6-2, 10-6
Lainy Ristau (WSU) def. Johana Brower (SCSU): 2-6, 6-0, 10-7
Clara Thoemke (WSU) def. Maria Molitor(SCSU): 6-2, 6-1
Brooklyn Broadwell (SCSU) def. Elysia Beynon (WSU): 6-3, 6-4
Lara-Maria Schaefer (SCSU) def. Ally Burger (WSU): 6-3, 6-0

SERIES HISTORY
Friday's match against Minnesota Crookston will be the 24^th meeting between the two programs with St. Cloud State winning all 23 of the previous matches. The Huskies faced off against the Golden Eagles twice last year, earning a 6-1 victory in each match.

The team's both opened their season last year on February 3 in Grand Forks, N.D. The Huskies swept doubles play by winning all three matches by 2+ points. SCSU continued their dominance into singles play as they won five of the six matches, as the Golden Eagles did not score more than three points in any set. St. Cloud State earned their first victory of the season with a 6-1 victory.

Results- St. Cloud State 6, Minnesota Crookston 1
Doubles

Maria Paz Aoki & Claudia Muñoz Perez (SCSU) def. Blaike Zander & Kavya Singth (UMC): 7-5
Arisa Kashima & Oriana Grott (SCSU) def. Madeline Schneider & Sarah Velasquez (UMC) :7-5
Johana Brower & Maria Molitor (SCSU) def. Michelle Swyter & Samantha Gutierrez (UMC) 6-0

Singles

Madeline Schneider (UMC) def. Oriana Grott (SCSU): 6-1, 5,7, 7-5
Maria Paz Aoki (SCSU) def. Blaike Zander (UMC): 6-2, 6-2
Claudia Muñoz Perez (SCSU) def. Michelle Swyter (UMC): 6-1, 6-2
Arisa Kashima (SCSU) def. Samantha Velasquez (UMC): 6-2, 6-1
Johana Brower (SCSU) def. Tasha Achermann (UMC): 6-0, 6-2
Maria Molitor (SCSU) def. Ashley Chomyn (UMC): 6-2, 6-1

The second meeting between the teams took place in Duluth, Minn on March 19. SCSU again got out to a fast start as they won the doubles point with wins by Brower/Grott in the No. 2 spot and Fredrickson/Molitor in the No. 3 spot. The Huskies again would earn straight set victories in five of the six singles matches as Paz Aoki, Muñoz Perez, Kashima, Brower, and Molitor all picked up a win. St. Cloud State again came out victorious with an impressive performance against UMC.

Results- St. Cloud State 6, Minnesota Crookston 1
Doubles

Blaike Zander & Kavya Singh (UMC) def. Maria Paz Aoki & Claudia Muñoz Perez (SCSU): 6-4
Johana Brower & Oriana Grott (SCSU) def. Madeleine Schneider & Sarah Velasquez (UMC): 6-1
Olivia Fredrickson & Maria Molitor (SCSU) def. Tasha Achermann & Michelle Swyter (UMC): 6-2

Singles

Madeleine Schneider (UMC) def. Oriana Grott (SCSU): 6-1, 6-2
Maria Paz Aoki(SCSU) def. Blaike Zander (UMC): 6-2, 6-1
Claudia Muñoz Perez (SCSU) def. Kavya Singh (UMC): 6-1, 6-3
Arisa Kashima (SCSU) def. Michelle Swyter (UMC): 6-4, 6-1
Johana Brower (SCSU) def. Sarah Velasquez (UMC): 6-2, 6-4
Maria Molitor (SCSU) def. Ashley Chomyn (UMC): 6-4, 6-1

Saturday's match against Bemidji State will be the 53^rd meeting between the programs with St. Cloud State holding a 45-7 advantage. After losing the previous six matches to the Beavers, SCSU has won the last two meetings, including last year's matchup.

The Huskies jumped out of the gates as they won the doubles point after winning all three matches. SCSU maintained their momentum throughout singles play as they captured wins in five of the six singles matches with four of them coming in straight sets. Paz Aoki, Muñoz Perez, Kashima, Brower, and Molitor all picked up a win as the Huskies earned another 6-1 victory and picked up their first conference win of the season and their fifth overall victory.

Results- St. Cloud State 6, Bemidji State 1
Doubles

Maria Paz Aoki & Claudia Muñoz Perez (SCSU) def. Blanca Lopez-Oro & Nicoleta Anestiadi (BSU): 6-2
Johana Brower & Oriana Grott (SCSU) def. Emilia Sand & Isabela Nelson (BSU): 6-2
Olivia Fredrickson & Maria Molitor (SCSU) def. Laura Burger & Lexi Leitner (BSU): 6-2

Singles

Blanca Lopez-Oro (BSU) def. Oriana Grott (SCSU): 3-6, 7-6, 7-6
Maria Paz Aoki (SCSU) def. Emilia Sand (BSU): 6-0, 6-4
Claudia Muñoz Perez (SCSU) def. Nicoleta Anestiadi (BSU): 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Arisa Kashima (SCSU) def. Laura Burger (BSU): 6-1, 6-1
Johana Brower (SCSU) def. Isabela Nelson (BSU): 6-0, 6-2
Maria Molitor (SCSU) def. Lily Jones (BSU): 6-2, 6-2

SCOUTING MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
Minnesota Crookston comes into this match holding an undefeated 3-0 record. The Golden Eagles have comfortably won all three of their matches with a 7-0 victory over Minnesota Morris and 6-1 victories against Bemidji State and Concordia College.

In the preseason coaches' poll, Minnesota Crookston was projected to finish 8^th in the conference after posting a 7-10 record last season, leading to a 10^th place finish in the standings.

Senior Madeline Scheider was named the player to watch for the Golden Eagles. In her junior season, Schneider won 14 of her 17 singles matches and posted a 9-8 record in doubles. Schneider picked up where she left off last year as she has started the season with a 3-0 record in doubles while being partnered with Blaike Zander and a 3-0 singles record in the No. 1 spot.

The Golden Eagles are one of the younger teams in the NSIC with half of their roster being freshman. Returning players from last year's roster include Schneider, Blaike Zander, Kavya Singh, and Kaydance Hinn. The freshman have been impactful for UMC as Ariadna Solis Guals and Daniela de Lucas Rivera have played at the No. 1 doubles spot for the Golden Eagles. The duo is currently 3-0 together in doubles. In singles, de Lucas Rivera has played at the No. 2 spot, posting a record of 3-0, and Solis Guals at the No. 3 spot, holding a 2-1 record.

Josh Lunak is in his second stint with the Golden Eagles after being the head coach from 2008-2013 and then returning in 2022. Lunak enters his 9^th season with the program and has posted a record of 19-93. Lunak and the Golden Eagles have shown improvement in the past few seasons as they have improved from two wins in 2022 to seven wins in 2023.

SCOUTING BEMIDJI STATE
The Beavers enter this matchup with the Huskies losing their only match of the season. BSU dropped their season opener 6-1 to Minnesota Crookston last Saturday.

In the preseason coaches' poll, the Beavers were projected to finish last in the conference after posting a 1-14 record last year, leading to a 12^th place finish in the conference.

Freshman Kate Taylor was named the player to watch for the Beavers. Taylor opened her collegiate career playing in the No. 1 doubles spot and No. 1 singles spot. Taylor and Valesca Rodriguez were defeated 6-1 in doubles. In singles, Taylor lost to Schneider 6-7, 6-2, 4-10.

Against Minnesota Crookston, freshman Ana Lucía Ibáñez was the only Beaver to win a match as she defeated Blaike Zander 6-7, 6-0, 7-5 at the No. 4 spot.

Head coach Kyle Fodness enters his 5^th season with the program after being hired in 2019. During his tenure, Fodness has posted a record of 20-38 throughout his time with the Beavers. Prior to becoming the head coach, Fodness served as a volunteer assistant coach from 2016-2018.

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