The Upper Iowa tennis team, ranked #50 in the nation, is preparing for one of their toughest weekends of the regular season. The team will face Winona State (7 a.m.) and MSU Moorhead (4:30 p.m.) in Minneapolis at the Baseline Tennis Center on Saturday and then match up with the #37 team in the country, Augustana, on Sunday (7 a.m.) in the Baseline Center.
The Peacocks won their first NSIC dual of the year against the Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth, 8-1. UIU swept the doubles matches and won five of the six singles matches to claim the victory.
Upper Iowa is led by this week's NSIC Player of the Week, Amanda Nunez. The Peacock won her singles match (6-3, 6-3) and her doubles match (8-2) with her partner Karli Loewecke. The pair defended their #1 ranking in the central region with the win.
Opponents' Notes...
Winona State
The Winona State tennis team kicked off their spring schedule with a 5-4 win over St. Olaf Friday in Winona. The Warriors fell behind 2-1 after doubles play, with Laura Lindstrand and Jessica Urban claiming a win. WSU came back to take four of six singles matches to earn the win. Heather Pierce and Leah Dahl won their matches at the one and two spots, respectively. Amanda Asche and Andrea Krueger also claimed singles victories for WSU. Winona State is ranked fifth in the ITA Tennis Division II Rankings after fall play. Pierce is ranked second regionally in singles play as well.
MSU Moorhead
The Dragon Tennis team played their first dual at home this season on Saturday suffering a 9-0 loss to St. Benedict’s.
#37 Augustana
Katie Jesperson didn’t drop a single game and helped Augustana to two 9-0 conference victories where the Vikings didn’t drop a single set to begin their spring season. Jesperson played No. 2 singles against Minnesota, Crookston and U-Mary and defeated her opponent 6-0, 6-0 in both matches. The freshman teamed up with Brittany Gaster and dominated doubles play against UMC with an 8-0 victory at No. 1.
