ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict tennis team secured itself a spot in the MIAC Postseason Tournament thanks to an 8-1 victory over Hamline Saturday afternoon, and the Blazers start tournament play Wednesday afternoon.
Saint Benedict, which earned the No. 6 seed after going 5-5 in MIAC play this season, travels to Northfield, Minn., on Wednesday, April 29, to take on No. 3 Carleton. The quarterfinal match starts at 4:30 p.m.
The Blazers enter the tournament looking to shake off its 9-0 loss to Gustavus on Sunday afternoon. CSB, which put together a five-match winning streak mid-season, lost three of their last four matches to end the regular season. Each of the three teams CSB lost to – St. Olaf, Gustavus and St. Kate's – all made the conference tournament.
Saint Benedict and the Knights met earlier this spring in the Blazers' first MIAC match of the year. Carleton, which was ranked 26
th in Division III at the time, came away with a 9-0 victory on Feb. 21 at the Owatonna Tennis Center in Owatonna, Minn.
Heading into the tournament, junior
Daley Rupar leads CSB with eight singles wins this season. She is 8-8 overall.
Ellen Stensrud and
Laura Finn both have seven singles wins and
Victoria Beach has six. Rupar and
Rachel Raden are the Blazers' winningest doubles tandem with a 9-5 mark together. Beach and Finn are 7-7 and
Cassy Finn and
Taylor Kraemer are 6-6 when paired up together.
The Knights, who are 13-3 overall and 8-2 in the MIAC, has won two of its last three matches and eight of its last 10. Carleton's only two losses in that time are to Gustavus – which finished conference play undefeated – and St. Thomas, which is the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
No. 5 St. Catherine is at No. 4 St. Olaf in the other quarterfinal match, which also starts at 4:30 p.m. in Northfield. The semifinals are at Gustavus and St. Thomas Friday, May 1, and the championship match is Sunday, May 3, at the highest remaining seed.
