RESULTS
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Bethel University women's tennis team captured their first-ever MIAC Playoff victory with a thrilling 5-4 win over St. Catherine University Wednesday afternoon. The No. 4-seeded Royals (18-4, 7-3 MIAC), who were hosting the No. 5-seeded Knights (11-7, 6-4 MIAC) in their first-ever home postseason match, managed to take two of three points in doubles play and three of six points in singles play for the narrow triumph. As a result, BU will now travel to Northfield Friday afternoon to face top-seeded Carleton at 3:30 p.m.
"Today's match was incredible," said Coach Fernelius. "It came down to the wire and could've gone either way, but our team did it and I couldn't be more proud of them."
The postseason contest started with fireworks immediately in doubles play. Bethel's No. 1 duo of
Sydney Parkinson and
Jill Weinzettel gave BU an early 1-0 lead with an 8-4 victory, but St. Kate's evened things up with a win at No. 2 doubles.
Mattie Kidder and
Anna Browning brought it to a tiebreaker, but SCU's Alisha Wiedmeier and Julia Sporer won the tiebreaker 7-5 and earned the point with a 9-8 win. The Wildcats looked like they would take a 2-1 lead heading into singles play as their No. 3 combo of Jessica Duda and Leah Obert led BU 5-1 midway through the match, but Bethel's
Sami Hindt and
Mattie Lubben recorded a ferocious comeback and won by a final score of 8-5.
"Winning at No. 3 doubles turned the tide in our favor," commented Fernelius. "Not only did we go into singles play with the lead, but we had great momentum after coming back from a huge deficit."
Sydney Parkinson quickly gave Bethel a 3-1 lead with a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 2 singles. St. Catherine's Jessica Duda made it 3-2 with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles, but
Sami Hindt put the Royals one point away from victory with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 4 singles. It was BU's
Mattie Kidder that then iced the win for the Royals with a 6-1, 7-5 victory at No. 1 singles against Alicia Knoll—a competitor she lost to four days prior. The Wildcats won third-set tiebreakers at both No. 3 and No. 6 singles, but it wasn't enough in the end.
"Our girls showed such heart and determination today," closed Fernelius. "I couldn't be more excited to see this group capture our program's first-ever playoff win."
Bethel hopes to carry it's momentum to Northfield Friday for the MIAC semifinal match at Carleton College. The Royals and Knights are slated to begin at 3:30 p.m.
