ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After a short season this fall, the College of Saint Benedict tennis team opens the spring portion of its 2015-16 season this Saturday, Feb. 6, when it takes on Northwestern. That match is at 5:30 p.m. at Public Indoor Tennis in Spring Lake Park, Minn.
Saturday's match marks the first competition since September for CSB. The Blazers went 1-2 in the fall with a 9-0 win against Loras coming on Sept. 19. Northwestern, which beat Saint Benedict 5-4 last season, was picked to share the UMAC title in the preseason coaches' poll.
CSB starts the spring – which is when it plays all its MIAC matches – with a nonconference match against Northwestern, but starts MIAC play on Feb. 13 with a match at Saint Mary's. The Blazers are at home for the first time when they host Concordia at 9 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, at Fitness Evolution in Sartell.
CSB, which earned a spot in the MIAC tournament and finished sixth in 2014-15, was picked to finish sixth again in the league's preseason poll, which was released Wednesday afternoon. St. Thomas was picked to win the league with Gustavus a close second and Carleton in third.
Leading the way for the Blazers this spring are senior
Rachel Raden and junior
Laura Finn, who both earned All-MIAC honors last season. Senior
Victoria Beach will also add leadership and experience to CSB's roster, and
Ellen Stensrud is back after trying for second on the team with seven singles wins as a first year in 2014-15. New to the team this year is
Kylie Miller, a first year from St. Cloud Tech who was part of three straight conference titles for the Tigers.
Raden and sophomore
Taylor Kraemer went 2-1 at No. 2 doubles in the fall to lead CSB, and Beach and
Cassy Finn teamed up for one doubles win and
Megan Hintz and Stensrud had a won at No. 3 doubles.
The Blazers have seven indoor matches on their schedule before their first scheduled outdoor match April 9 against Carleton in St. Joseph. CSB, which is competing in Puerto Rico over spring break, plays 10 conference matches in the spring leading up to the MIAC playoffs. The playoffs start with quarterfinals on May 3, semifinals on May 5 and wrap up with the championships on May 7.
