MOORHEAD, Minn. -- After facing a difficult stretch of nonconference matches, the Minnesota State University Moorhead women's tennis team returns to action on Saturday for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference contests. The Dragons will face Minnesota Crookston at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday in Grand Forks, N.D., and will conclude the day against Bemidji State at 5:30 p.m.

The Dragons (5-7, 5-2 NSIC) are tied for third in the conference with Winona State. Upper Iowa and Augustana share the NSIC lead at 7-0. The top eight teams in the final regular-season standings advance to the NSIC tournament in late April. MSUM is aiming to solidify a spot in the NSIC tournament this weekend.

Sophomore Jessamy Jones leads MSUM with an 8-4 singles mark, while senior Andrea Rognlien is 7-5. Jones is a perfect 7-0 in conference matches while Rognlien is 6-1 in the NSIC.

Jones and junior Ashley Wood have teamed up for a 6-6 doubles mark for the Dragons. Rognlien and junior Cassie Smith each have posted 5-7 doubles marks.

Oliver Summers is in his third season as MSUM's head coach.

The opponents
Minnesota Crookston is 0-10 on the season and 0-6 in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles lost to Concordia College, 7-2, in a nonconference match on March 8. They will face Mary prior to facing MSUM. Catherine Brown leads UMC with a 4-6 singles mark while Brown and Whitney Erickson have teamed up for a 2-7 doubles mark. Ryan McGuigan is in his first season as UMC's head coach.

Bemidji State is 2-7 overall and 1-6 in the NSIC. The Beavers have won two matches in a row, including 9-0 wins over Minnesota Crookston (on March 1) and Martin Luther (on March 22).  The Beavers will face Mary prior to facing MSUM. Shaylin Prout leads Bemidji State with a 5-4 record in singles. Sabrina Okeson and Justine Scheller have teamed up for a 3-4 doubles mark for Bemidji State. Mark Fodness is in his third season as Bemidji State's head coach.