ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict tennis team kicks off the spring portion of its 2016-17 season Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 4-5, when it heads to northern Minnesota for a trio of matches, including its first MIAC match of the year.
 
CSB starts the spring season – which includes the bulk of the team's schedule, and all 10 MIAC matches – at 5 p.m. Saturday when it takes on the University of Minnesota-Crookston in Grand Forks, Minn. Sunday, CSB starts its conference season against Concordia at 12:30 p.m. and then takes on Bemidji State at 3:30 p.m. Both matches Sunday are in Bemidji, Minn.
 
Under first year head coach Michael Engdahl, Saint Benedict went 2-2 this fall with wins against Buena Vista and UW-Stout. CSB also played a close match with Luther, which is traditionally one of the top teams in the region.
 
Leading the way for CSB this spring will be senior Laura Finn, who earned All-MIAC honors as a sophomore. She is joined by juniors Ellen Stensrud and Taylor Kraemer and sophomore Kylie Miller, as well as six first years. Finn is 3-1 in singles matches and 2-2 in doubles, Stensrud is 3-1 in singles and first year Tessa Rahrick has two singles wins to her name. Rahrick, Kraemer and Erin Kolbow all have two doubles wins so far this season.
 
After this weekend, CSB plays its first home match of the season Saturday, Feb. 11, when it hosts North Central (Minn.) at 12:30 p.m. at Sta-Fit (formerly Fitness Evolution) in Sartell, Minn. The team takes its annual spring break trip March 6-10 when it heads to Orlando, Fla., for a pair of nonconference matches.