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St. Cloud State University
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Women's tennis rebounds at home
By Jay Corn
Published:
Monday, March 29, 2004
Media Credit: Ryan Henry
SCSU co-captains Jodi Pease (left), and Alyssa Lauritsen (right) compete in their doubles match vs. College of St. Benedict Thursday night at Gold´s Gym in Sartell.
After a convincing Saturday afternoon victory over Minnesota State-Moorhead, the SCSU women's tennis team is poised and ready to make a run at the NCC division title.
The 9-0 trouncing of Moorhead puts the squad's overall record at 11-6 with six matches remaining in the regular season. The team has now come up with wins in their last two matches, and senior Jodi Pease says this Husky squad is focused and eager to make a serious push at a division crown.
"I was really pleased and impressed with the effort the team as a whole put out yesterday (Saturday)," Pease said. "To be able to beat a team like Moorhead (15-4 before the SCSU visit) in such convincing fashion really shows what this team is capable of and proves that we can beat any team on any given day. We've come a long way since the beginning of the season, and we're excited to play the season out and make some noise in the (NCAA) regionals."
The win over MSU-Moorhead was the second Husky victory in four days, the first of which was a 6-3 (11-6) victory against St. Benedict's Thursday evening. The back-to-back wins effectively put an end to a three-game losing skid that started during the team's recent spring break tournament trip to Florida.
The Huskies dropped their first game of the Florida trip to Eckerd College by a score of 6-3 (10-4). The squad would not get a chance to redeem themselves, however, as their next two scheduled games were cancelled due to rain. The loss to Eckerd proved to be the start of a three-game tailspin that saw the Huskies drop matches to both North Dakota 7-2 (10-5) and Dayton 7-2 (10-6), a tailspin that has been corrected, according to senior captain Alyssa Lauritsen.
"The Florida trip was definitely a disappointment, especially with the rain-outs and everything, but we've put that all behind us," Lauritsen said. "During the last two matches, we've gone out and really played well and showed some real ferocity in attacking our opponents. That's what I want to do the rest of the season; just go out and attack these people and get to the (NCAA) regionals."
The last six matches of the regular season will solidify seedings for the April 23-24 NCC Tournament, a tournament SCSU hopes will be a tune-up for the real goal - an NCAA Tournament bid. A solid performance down the stretch of the regular season would ensure a top Husky seed in the NCC Tournament, in turn easing their chances of earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament. It would be a Cinderella run to the national championship, a run that Lauritsen says SCSU is capable of making this year, with this team.
"This is a big year for us," Lauritsen said. "We have a great group of seniors, and two excellent first-year players in Jenna Vogel and Kelley Severson, and I just really think we have the depth and the talent to really go a long way. We made the tournament last year for the first time since I've been there, and to get back this year and do well is a huge, huge goal for both me and for the team."
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