The Augustana women’s tennis team finished the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships on a strong note by blanking Upper Iowa 5-0 Sunday to finish fifth in the conference tournament Sunday in St. Paul, Minn.
The fourth-seeded Vikings finished the tournament with a 2-1 record, evening their season dual record at 13-13. Augustana will now wait to see if they have qualified for the NCAA Central Regional Championships.
Augustana had little trouble with the Peacocks, who were the No. 2 seed and had downed Augustana 5-4 during the regular season. However, Augustana gained the upper hand by winning all 3 doubles matches. The Vikings gained a big win at No. 3 doubles where
Emily Johnson and
Danielle Gilbert edged Kelsey Montgomery and Nicole Henry 9-8 after winning the tiebreaker 7-4.
Needing to win 2 of the 6 singles matches to win the dual, Augustana got those wins when
Brittany Gaster beat Kasey Huisman 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 singles and
Hailey Gunderson defeated Faith Atherton 6-3, 6-1 at No. 6 singles.
The Vikings opened the NSIC Championships with a 5-3 setback to fifth-seeded Winona State. WSU won 2 of the doubles matches to take a 2-1 lead into singles action. The Warriors then gained 3 singles wins to clinch the dual. Johnson and
Adrienne Conley picked up singles wins for the Vikings.
Augustana bounced back with a 5-2 win over No. 8 seed Bemidji State in a consolation matchup Saturday night. This time, Augustana led 2-1 after the doubles matches. Gaster, Conley and Johnson earned singles wins to clinch the dual.
Top seeded St. Cloud State defeated No. 3 seed Minnesota State 5-1 to win the team championship. Winona State upended No. 7 seed Southwest Minnesota State in the third-place dual.
Augustana will return to St. Paul next week for the individual portion of the NSIC Championships.
First Round: Winona State 5, Augustana (S.D.) 3
Singles competition
1. Pierce, Heather (WSU) def. Gaster, Brittany (AUGIE) 6-4, 6-4
2. Asche, Amanda (WSU) def. Hagestuen, Jill (AUGIE) 6-4, 6-1
3. Johnson, Emily (AUGIE) def. Hesterman, Mary (WSU) 6-1, 6-3
4. Conley, Adrienne (AUGIE) def. Peltier, Holly (WSU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Zinter, Courtney (WSU) def. Lamberty, Sarah (AUGIE) 6-3, 6-1
6. Baustian, Amber (AUGIE) vs. Richae, Erika (WSU) unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Pierce, Heather/Hesterman, Mary (WSU) def. Gaster, Brittany/Lamberty, Sarah (AUGIE) 8-3
2. Asche, Amanda/Richae, Erika (WSU) def. Gunderson, Hailey/Conley, Adrienne (AUGIE) 8-5
3. Gilbert, Danielle/Johnson, Emily (AUGIE) def. Peltier, Holly/Zinter, Courtney (WSU) 8-4
Consolation Semifinals: Augustana (S.D.) 5, Bemidji State 2
Singles competition
1. Gaster, Brittany (AUGIE) def. Welu, Kali (BSU) 6-4, 6-1
2. Christiansen, Nicole (BSU) def. Hagestuen, Jill (AUGIE) 6-1, 6-1
3. Johnson, Emily (AUGIE) def. Steinke, Farrah (BSU) 6-0, 6-3
4. Conley, Adrienne (AUGIE) def. Christiansen, Kelli (BSU) 6-0, 6-0
5. Lamberty, Sarah (AUGIE) vs. Kapsner, Julie (BSU) unfinished
6. Baustian, Amber (AUGIE) vs. Erickson, Amy (BSU) unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Gaster, Brittany/Conley, Adrienne (AUGIE) def. Welu, Kali/Christiansen, Kelli (BSU) 8-4
2. Maki, Cheyanne/Steinke, Farrah (BSU) def. Hagestuen, Jill/Gunderson, Hailey (AUGIE) 8-6
3. Gilbert, Danielle/Johnson, Emily (AUGIE) def. Kapsner, Julie/Milless, Miranda (BSU) 8-6
Fifth Place Match: Augustana (S.D.) 5, Upper Iowa 0
Singles competition
1. Gaster, Brittany (AUGIE) def. Huisman, Kasey (UIU) 6-1, 6-3
2. Hagestuen, Jill (AUGIE) vs. Montgomery, Kelsey (UIU) unfinished
3. Johnson, Emily (AUGIE) vs. Cox, Mallery (UIU) unfinished
4. Conley, Adrienne (AUGIE) vs. Romer, Courtney (UIU) unfinished
5. Baustian, Amber (AUGIE) vs. Henry, Nicole (UIU) unfinished
6. Gunderson, Hailey (AUGIE) def. Atherton, Faith (UIU) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Gaster, Brittany/Conley, Adrienne (AUGIE) def. Huisman, Kasey/Cox, Mallery (UIU) 8-4
2. Hagestuen, Jill/Gunderson, Hailey (AUGIE) def. Romer, Courtney/Limburg, Betsy (UIU) 8-6
3. Johnson, Emily/Gilbert, Danielle (AUGIE) def. Montgomery, Kelsey/Henry, Nicole (UIU) 9-8 (7-4)