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ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The Bethel University men's and women's tennis programs are preparing for the 2013 season with increased expectations and excitement surrounding their programs. The Royals will enter a new era in 2013, as for the first time both the men and women will be led by a full-time coach in Drew Fernelius. Fernelius took the reins from longtime coach Dan Morton, who retired following the 2012 season. As a player, Fernelius was a Minnesota State High School Tennis Champion and two-time NCAA Tennis All-American at the University of St. Thomas and was most recently the boy's and girl's tennis coach at Robbinsdale Armstrong High School. Entering his first season at Bethel, Fernelius inherits a pair of teams that have a strong core of veteran leaders which brings optimism for the 2013 Royals and their new coach.
 
“We have a ton of leadership and experience,” Fernelius said. “The challenge is going to be translating that into wins. The goal for both teams is to make the MIAC Playoffs. That is our goal and we will take it one match at a time.”
 
The MIAC coaches picked both teams to finish in the eighth spot in the conference preseason coaches' poll following a 2012 season which saw the men finish eighth and the women tenth. With a history of success behind the men's program, and the return of the entire women's lineup from 2012, plus the return of 2011 No. 1 singles player Abby Edin, the Royals are looking to improve on last year's finishes.
 
"We are looking to improve on last year's results with higher expectations," coach Fernelius said. "Our student-athletes are really working hard to prepare for success and the team camaradrie has been great."
 
The Bethel men are looking for their first appearance in the MIAC playoffs since 2010, the final year of a four year run of the Royals being in the MIAC playoffs, which included a pair of victories in the playoffs. A pair of senior standouts, who will play No. 1 and No. 2 singles along with being a returning All-MIAC doubles pairing, are determined to lead the Royals back into the playoff hunt. Tucker Morris will be the Royals No. 1 singles player again in 2013 and boasts a career 30-17 record in singles play. Reggie Ronning will move up to No. 2 singles after posting a 5-8 record at the No. 3 spot in 2012. A trio of juniors in Steve Schull, Kirby Ronning and David Leafblad along with sophomore Brett Lizotte round out the Royals singles lineup. Leafblad will be seeing his first extended action in singles play after being limited to just doubles action in the past due to injury. The double tandoms of Morris/R. Ronning, Schull/Leafblad, and K. Ronning/Lizotte will be a huge factor in the Royals team success in 2013.
 
“We are going to need to win two of three or sweep the doubles matches to win,” Fernelius explained. “We have been putting a huge emphasis on doubles play in practice because it will be key to our success.”
 
The Royals women, who did not have a single senior on the 2012 roster, received a much needed boost to their lineup in 2013 with the return of Abby Edin. In 2011 Edin was the Royals No. 1 singles player and posted a respectable 7-10 record before taking the 2012 season off to study abroad in Guatemala. Edin, who is a double major in Spanish Education K-12 and Teaching English as a Second Language K-12, will return to her No. 1 singles spot and team with senior captain Lisa Scheevel in No. 1 doubles. Scheevel, who has played the No. 1 singles slot in both 2012 and 2010 will return to No. 2 singles, where she posted five victories in 2011. The Royals other senior captain, Steph Brown, who saw the majority of her action at No. 2 singles in 2012, but also played four matches at No. 1 singles, will be third in the Royals lineup. Kristin Vivian and Amanda Johnson where the lone Royals to post individual winning records in 2012 while playing mainly No. 3 and No. 5 singles respectively. Both will be looking to improve on those individual records from the No. 4 and No. 6 spots in 2013. Kayla Wheeler, who was very competitive at No. 4 singles with a 9-10 record, will play in the No. 5 spot.
 
Fernelius decided to shake up the Royals double teams in 2013 as Edin and Scheevel will play in the No. 1 slot and Brown and Vivian will play No. 2. Scheevel and Brown had played doubles together for the past three seasons since coming to Bethel. The No. 3 doubles team to begin the season will be Wheeler and sophomore Abby Kreklau. In 2012 Kreklau was the Royals main No. 6 singles player and was 4-2 in doubles play.
 
“We switched our doubles lineup a little bit this year,” Fernelius said. “The main reasons where to provide a fresh new energy level and with Abby's return it increases our depth and gives us a new look for doubles because it is so important to our team success. There is a lot of competition for the last doubles spot as Lindsey Vivian, Shanna Burgmeier and hockey player Charise Kendrick are all in the mix, which again speaks to our depth.”
 
The Royals begin the 2013 season today as they travel to Duluth to take on the College of St. Scholastica, who boasts 16 consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) titles for both the men's and women's programs. The Saints men also recently defeated one of the top NCAA Division II programs in St. Cloud State, who ironically is the Royals second opponent on February 15. Both programs early season schedule also includes the top teams in the MIAC as the Royals will be tested right away before embarking on their annual spring break trip to Orlando, Florida. In Florida, the Royals will play five matches against competition from all over the country before returning to Minnesota for the start of outdoor play at the Ona Orth Athletic Complex on the Bethel campus. The Royals home indoor matches are held at the Lakeville Lifetime Fitness.