The Southwest Minnesota State University women’s tennis team faced off against Macalester College in the first game of the season on Saturday, Feb. 9 in St. Paul. The Mustangs took a 7-2 loss against Macalester, but had one singles victory and one doubles victory.
Charlie Kost, head tennis coach, heads into his third year of coaching the team. He had previously been head coach in the 1993 season and was assistant coach for two seasons prior to that. Most recently he was the head coach for the Marshall High School tennis team, before returning to SMSU.
“We have a young team. We are looking at getting more experience…become better tennis players. The team is basically sophomores and freshmen and they are playing against teams that mostly juniors and seniors. This is a year to get experience,” Kost said.
The team hopes to gain some experience this season, with only two returning players from the 2012 roster. Sophomores Katie Kienitz and Allison Niedert return to the team this year as co-captains.
“I am looking forward to really getting to know all of the girls, and bonding as a team. As a team, we just need to improve on staying positive throughout the whole match and know that we will improve throughout the season,” Kienitz said.
New members to the team include junior Shelby Monahan; and freshmen Hannah Hagen, Crystal Overbaugh, Samantha Ritter, Aileen Roman, Julia Stuckey and Kayla Uphus.
Monahan took a singles victory, by default, to give SMSU the first win of the day. Kienitz and Niedert defeated Macalester’s Katelyn Glenna and Alicia Roopchand 8-5 in a doubles victory.
“This first match is to get the nerves out…have that varsity college experience. Our lineup is much more even…they can gain an experience here,” Kost said.
“The entire team was excited to get out on the court and actually experience what college tennis was all about,” Kienitz said.
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) will begin next weekend where the Mustangs will face off against Winona State and Augustana on Feb. 16 and 17, respectively.
