ST. PETER, Minn. – For the first time in several years, the College of Saint Benedict tennis team competed at the ITA Regional Tournament this past weekend in St. Peter, Minn.
Six different athletes competed at the tournament – which featured some of the best collegiate tennis players from around the region – and two more competed at the Gustie Fall Invite, also in St. Peter.
First year
Kayla McIver picked up two wins at the ITA Tournament to lead Saint Benedict. She lost in the first round of the main draw, but came back to win two consolation matches before losing in straight sets in the third round of consolation play.
Both
Erin Kolbow and
Mackenzie Schurhamer went 1-1 in the main draw. Kolbow won in the first round and lost in a third-set tiebreaker in the second round, and Schurhamer also won in the first round and lost in straight sets in the second round.
Tessa Rahrick went 0-1 after being forced to retire due to heat exhaustion.
Ellen Stensrud went 0-2 after falling in the first round and then losing a third-set tiebreaker in the first round of the consolation bracket.
In doubles play at the ITA, Rahrick and McIver teamed up to finish 1-1. They won their first-round match and lost in the second round. Stensrud and Schurhamer went 1-2. The duo lost in the first round, won a consolation match then lost in the second round of consolation play.
Kylie Miller and Kolbow finished 0-2.
Miller and
Gabbie Noack both competed at the Gustie Fall Invite. Miller went 2-1 after winning her first two matches and losing in the third round. Noack went 1-1 after winning her first-round matchup and then losing in the second round.
"It was everyone's first time competing in the ITAs, and we didn't know what to expect," second-year head coach
Michael Engdahl said. "We knew we were going to compete against the top tennis players in the Midwest, and we definitely showed we belong. We did a great job putting ourselves in a position to win matches, and we should be very proud of the way we competed. Now, we need to focus on being in winning situations against great teams."
The ITA and Gustie Fall Invite wrapped up the 2017 fall season for CSB. The team wraps up fall practices this week, and begins the spring portion of its schedule in January 2018. The team's first match in January is scheduled for Jan. 27 against Northwestern at Sta-Fit in Sartell.
