ST. PETER, Minn. – For the first time in program history the Bethel University women's tennis team will be playing in the MIAC Playoff Championship match following a 5-3 victory over No. 32 Gustavus Adolphus Friday afternoon. The third-seeded Royals used a pair of comeback wins in doubles play before three wins in singles advanced BU over the second-seeded Gusties.
The historic win improves Bethel to 20-4 notching a program record for wins in a single season. The Royals will have their hands full facing another ranked opponent in No. 27 Carleton College. BU travels to the top-seeded Knights on Sunday, May 5 for a 1 p.m. start. The winner of Sunday's match will earn the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
"Honestly I don't know what to say," said Head Coach
Drew Fernelius. "This is something we have dreamed about and bottom line is they believed they could get it done today. We talk about how we can control two things and that is our effort and our attitude. No matter where we are in the match, keep fighting and have good positive attitude and we did that today. We are going to take tonight to celebrate and then when the clock strikes midnight our minds turn to Carleton and we get back at it tomorrow."
Maggie Riermann and
Grace Riermann picked up the Royals first team point battling back to an 8-7 victory in the top doubles match.
Mackenzie Novak and
Jill Weinzettel won their fourth straight doubles match and 11th in the last 12 matchups in comeback fashion with an 8-7 decision giving BU a 2-1 lead heading into singles play.
The Gusties took a 3-2 lead with wins at the No. 2 and No. 5 singles match.
Weinzettel tied the match back up at 3-3 with a win at No. 4 singles. Weinzettel rallied back from a 1-4 deficit in the opening set to take it 7-5. In the second, she went up 2-1 before dropping a pair of games going down 2-3. Weinzettel showed her resilience rattling off four straight games taking it 6-3.
Meghan Schuler put the Royals ahead and within one team point of a victory taking the No. 6 singles match 6-2, 6-2.
The rest was up to the Royals most consistent singles player,
Mackenzie Novak. At the No. 3 singles match she opened with a 6-2 first set win. Gustavus' Lilly Hartman took the opening game in the second set before Novak broke the Gusties serve taking a 2-1 lead and never looked back. The 6-3 second set win gave Novak her sixth straight singles win and advance BU to the championship match on Sunday.
