ST. JOSEPH, Minn. –The College of Saint Benedict Tennis Team (9-7) has been seeded No. 6 and will face No. 3 Bethel (15-4) in the opening round of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Tennis Tournament on Wednesday (April 26) at 3:30 p.m., at the Ona Orth Athletic Complex in Arden Hills, Minn.

CSB finished the regular season at 9-7 and 6-4 in the MIAC. For the Bennies, it is the squad's first winning season in the MIAC since going 6-4 in 2013-14. Directed by veteran Head Coach Jack Bowe, CSB will now face a Bethel team in the MIAC Tourney Quarterfinals that the Bennies edged 5-4 in the final regular season home match on Saturday, April 22 at Sta-Fit in Sartell. CSB will make its second straight appearance in the MIAC postseason playoffs. In the other quarterfinal match, No. 4 Macalester (7-3) hosts No. 5 St. Olaf (6-4) in quarterfinal matchups.

In the semifinals, regular season league champion Carleton (10-0) is the top-seed and will face the lowest remaining seed to Northfield, Minn., on Friday, April 28 while No. 2 Gustavus (9-1) will host the higher seed in St. Peter. Both semifinal matches are tentatively set for 3:30 p.m. starts as well. Saturday's championship match is tentatively scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on the home court of the top remaining seed. 

Match dates, times, and locations are subject to change due to weather. The tournament victor will receive the MIAC Playoff championship plaque and the Conference's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Tournament. Gustavus has won a MIAC-best eight playoff championships since 2007. Carleton is a five-time champ, having enjoyed a three-peat from 2012-14, another in 2019, as well as last year's crown, while St. Thomas snagged title wins in 2015 and 2021.

Saint Benedict and Bethel in MIAC Tourney
In nine playoff appearances, CSB has played 14 matches with a 4-10 overall record. Bethel is 6-7 in seven appearances, CSB has made previous appearances in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2022. A year ago, CSB was the No. 6 seed and fell to No. 3 St. Catherine, 5-1, Bethel advanced to the semifinals a year ago, falling to No. 1 Gustavus, 5-0. Saint Benedict's last win was a quarterfinal win of 7-2 over St. Thomas when the Bennies were the No. 4 seed. CSB lost in the semifinals to No. 1 Gustavus. In terms of championships, CSB has not advanced to a final but reached the tourney semifinals four times. Gustavus has won eight titles with Carleton winning five while former member St. Thomas won two. However, CSB won three regular Midwestern Women's Collegiate Conference season titles in the 1983-85 seasons with head coach Randy Anderson.

Breaking Down Bethel
Bethel, coached by Drew Fernelius, enters his ninth season as the head men's and women's tennis coach at Bethel University. During Fernelius tenure he has taken both programs to new heights where both programs hosted and won MIAC Playoff matches in 2017 and 2019. Bethel opened their season with eleven consecutive wins, as they sit 15-4 overall and 7-3 in MIAC play.

Series Notes – CSB vs Bethel
In the last matchup on April 22, 2023, CSB took a 5-4 win as Maria Bedford won the decision point in a tiebreaker at No. 6 singles. Prior to that, the Bennies fell to Bethel, 6-3. CSB owns a 22-9 overall record against the Royals with a 10-4 home record and a 10-4 away record. In the first ever matchup on April 29, 1983, the Bennies won 8-1 in St. Joseph, Minn. Bennies have won four of the last 10 matchups between the two teams.  
 
By the Numbers
Through 16 matches, the Bennies sit 57-39 overall in singles play and have a 37-23 mark in conference play. At singles, CSB is 11-5 at No. 1, including 9-2 by Ashley Tarrolly. CSB is 7-9 at No. 2; 8-8 at No. 3; 9-7 at No. 4; 11-5 at No. 5 and 11-5 at No. 6. In doubles, CSB is 30-18 and owns a 17-13 mark in league play. At No. 3 doubles, the Bennies sit 13-3 with a 9-7 record at No. 1 and 8-8 at No. 2.

The Bennies started the spring campaign with a 9-0 MIAC decision over St. Scholastica (3-10, 1-4 MIAC) on Feb. 18 at Sta-Fit in Sartell, Minn. On a spring break road trip, CSB finished 2-2 as they earned a 6-3 win over Misericordia on March 6 and a 7-2 decision against Covenant College (Ga.) to move to 3-0. Then, they took a 7-2 loss to Piedmont on March 9 and a 4-3 setback to NCAA DII Cedarville on March 10. Coming back into MIAC play the Bennies had a successful 2-1 weekend that started with a 5-4 win over St. Kate's on Friday, March 17, in St. Paul, Minn. CSB fell to St. Olaf, 5-4 on March 18 before winning four straight matches, including 8-1 over Saint Mary, 9-0 against Northwestern, 8-1 against Concordia-Moorhead and 9-0 vs. Hamline. DII St. Cloud State upended CSB, 4-3 and then the Bennies lost to Macalester, 6-33; Gustavus, 8-1 before defeating Bethel, 5-4. The Bennies closed the regular season with a 7-2 loss to Carleton.
 
Ashley Tarrolly  regionally ranked No. 6 in NCAA DIII 
Ashley Tarrolly is No. 6 individually in Region VII in the rankings released by NCAA DIII for April 16. Tarrolly, a sophomore from St. Cloud, Minn., is 9-2 at No. 1 singles with wins in eight straight matches, including a pair of regionally ranked opponents. In MIAC play, she has a 6-2 mark. In addition,    

Bedford earns 2nd MIAC Athlete of the Week on April 10
For the second time this year and in her career, senior Maria Bedford of the College of Saint Benedict Tennis Team has been named the MIAC Tennis Athlete of the Week. Bedford, who was also honored on March 13, is the 10th Bennie named MIAC Athlete of the Week. She joins Anne Bowe (Feb. 25, 2020), Karsen Aune (Feb. 5, 2019), Mackenzie Schurhamer (Feb. 20, 2018 and March 20, 2018), Tessa Rahrick (Feb. 7, 2017), Laura Finn (April 29, 2014), Megan Siepel (April 3, 2012) and Alicia Vargas (March 13, 2012). She is just the second tennis player in school history to earn MIAC honors twice (Mackenzie Schurhamer, 2018). Bedford, a mathematics major from St. Paul, Minn., picked up her 12th straight win in a tiebreaker against DII St. Cloud State on Wednesday, April 5. As a result, she is now 12-0 on the season and 7-0 at No. 6 singles. Against SCSU, she recorded a 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-5) decision over Maria Molitor. With 12 straight wins, Bedford has the most consecutive victories since Megan Tiegs won 15 straight matches at No. 1 singles in 2005-06 in a 22-2 overall season. However, Bedford's winning streak opened the season and Tiegs occurred midway through that campaign 17 years ago. It is the most consecutive wins to open a season in CSB school history as Heidi Halverson was 11-0 in 1994-95 before falling at No. 5 in her 12th match.

Greta Nesbit earns CSB Athlete of the Week on April 3
After winning her sixth straight singles match on Saturday (April 1), sophomore Greta Nesbit of has been named the CSB Athlete of the Week today (Monday, April 3). Nesbit, who is a mathematics major from Le Sueur, Minn., is off to her best start of her career in 2022-23. She is 8-3 in singles, including 6-0 in MIAC play. In doubles, she has combined with three other Bennies for a 4-2 record and 2-1 in league play. She has recorded six straight wins in singles play with five by straight set verdicts. With a 6-1, 6-2 win over Lynn Ngygen at No. 3 singles, she helped lead the Bennies to 9-0 decision over Hamline and a fourth straight win.

Player Notes
Ashley Tarrolly, a sophomore from St. Cloud, Minn., is regionally ranked No. 6 in singles in NCAA DIII region VII. With eighth straight victories, Tarrolly is 9-2 at No. 1 singles. In league play, she has a 7-2 mark. At No. 1 doubles, she has teamed with Peyton Kopel to go 6-5 (4-5 in the MIAC) and at No. 3 with Brooke Tonnessen with a 1-0 record.

Greta Nesbit, a sophomore from Le Sueur, Minn., has a 9-7 overall record, including 7-3 in MIAC play. She is 2-3 at No. 2 singles with a 7-4 mark at No. 3 as. In doubles play, she has a 5-3 record with five different teammates. At No. 3 doubles, she teamed with Tonnessen to go 1-1. At No. 2 doubles, she has a 1-0 record with Anne Bowe and is 1-0 with Peyton Kopel at No. 1. Nesbit has a 1-1 record with sophomore Sophia Jonas along with a 1-0 record with senior Maria Bedford.

This season, junior Peyton Kopel has a 7-9 record, including 2-3 at No. 1 and 5-6 at No. 2 singles. In doubles, she is 6-6 overall with a 4-5 record with Tarrolly at No. 1. With Anne Bowe, she is 2-2 at No. 1 doubles and she has a 1-0 record at No. 1 doubles with Nesbit.

A senior from St. Cloud, Minn., Anne Bowe is 5-5 overall with a 2-1 mark at No. 4 singles with a 3-1 mark at No. 5 singles. She has recorded wins in three straight matches. In doubles, she has a 5-6 overall record with a couple of different teammates. Bowe, who is 3-5 in doubles in the MIAC, teamed with Kopel for a 2-2 record at No. 1 and is 2-5 with Sophia Jonas at No.2 . She is also 1-0 with Nesbit at No. 2.

Jane Bodensteiner, a junior from Palatine, Ill., is 10-5 overall. She is 7-4 at No. 4 singles and 2-0 at No. 5 singles with a MIAC mark of 6-4. Bodensteiner is 11-3 in doubles, including 7-2 in conference, with Maria Bedford. She has also been named CSB Athlete of the Week.

Maria Bedford of St. Paul, Minn., who earned her first-ever MIAC Player of the Week honor on March 13, is 13-3 overall. She is 5-0 at No. 5 and 8-3 at No. 6. In doubles, Bedford and Bodensteiner stand overall 11-3. At No. 2, they are 4-2 and 7-1 at No. 3.

Brooke Beier, a first year from Foley, Minn., is 2-2 in singles. First-year Hannah Helms is 1-0 in singles play. Kira Young is 2-0 in doubles play and Brooke Tonnessen is 3-1 in doubles.

Sophomore Sophia Jonas did not play in the opening five matches. A year ago, she was 7-5 overall with a 6-2 MIAC mark in playing primarily at No. 5. She is 1-6 this season after recording a win in singles against Concordia College (Minn.) by a straight set margin. She is also 4-7 in doubles and 3-6 in MIAC play.

Of note, Kopel and Jonas advanced to the finals at the ITA Regional Championships hosted by Gustavus Adolphus College last fall. The duo made an incredible run in the tournament, marking the highest CSB finish in recent memory. The unranked Saint Ben's doubles team of Kopel and Jonas started their tournament run with an 8-1 win over Elise Bierbaum and Annika Hillstrom of Bethel. Kopel and Jonas advanced to face Giana Apostoli and Xingchen Liu of Carthage College, where they posted an 8-5 win over the No. 9 seed. The Bennies advanced to take on third seeded UW-Whitewater where CSB advanced due to an injury default by Whitewater. Kopel and Jonas then battled fifth seed Allison Szalay and Halle Rosentreter of Gustavus where the Bennie duo posted an 8-7(5) victory to advance to the final. The magical run ended falling 8-1 to top-seeded Amelia Asfaw and Mariam Nechiporuk of Carleton.

Bowe leads Saint Benedict Tennis
Early this year, Jack Bowe was named head coach of Saint Benedict Tennis. Bowe served as the Bennies' head coach for seven years in the mid-1990s, and guided CSB to top-five MIAC finishes in five of those seven seasons. In 2022-23, Bowe has directed the Bennies to a 9-7 overall record and 6-4 in the MIAC for sixth place. Saint Ben's is seeded No. 6 with the first winning record in conference play since going 6-4 in 2013-14. CSB took third with a 9-2 conference mark and a 16-5 overall record in 1994-95 and finished fourth in his final season in 1996-97. Bowe, who has compiled a 74-56 overall record, including 48-33 in the MIAC, earned MIAC Coach of the Year honors in 1993. Before his return to CSB, he led the Bennies to five straight win seasons. After leaving CSB in 1997, Bowe took over the Saint John's tennis program, and he has remained there ever since.