Tennis | 4/11/2021 10:33:00 AM
OWATONNA, Minn. — The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's tennis team split to close the regular season on Saturday. The Dragons beat Minnesota State-Mankato, 7-0 before losing to Southwest Minnesota State, 4-3 later in the evening.
MSUM ended the regular season 8-3 and qualified for the NSIC tournament.
Against Minnesota State, MSUM won the doubles point with winning all three wins. Senior Julia Geske and junior Mikaela Griechen won 6-1 at No. 1 doubles while senior Rachel Nguyen and junior Miranda Griechen won 6-1 at No. 2 over Kjerstin Hall and Lauren Goth. Junior Emma Andersen and freshman Madison Bell prevailed 6-0 over Sarah Johansen and Abbie Clayton at No. 3 doubles.
MSUM didn't lose a set in singles, as Geske, senior Lorissa Yuen, Nguyen, Mikaela Griechen, Miranda Griechen and Andersen all won in straight sets.
"It was great being back at full strength," MSUM head coach Jason Thiner said. "It was a good solid start to the day."
Against SMSU, the Dragons won the doubles point. Geske and Mikaela Griechen beat Mae Flight and Courtenay Leonard, 6-4 at No. 1, while Andersen and Bell teamed up for a 6-2 win at No. 3.
SMSU won four singles matches, however, including three-set wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, to clinch the win. Mikaela Griechen and Andersen won in straight sets for MSUM.
The match featured a 30-minute delay for a power outage.
"After more than a half hour delay when the lights went out, we just couldn't regain our momentum," Thiner said. "A tough loss, but we'll need to learn from it and take that into the conference championships."
MSUM will compete at the NSIC Championships on April 23-25.
MSU Moorhead 7, Minnesota State-Mankato 0
Doubles
No. 1 – Julia Geske/Mikaela Griechen (MSUM) def. Tyanna Washa/Dee Dokken, 6-1
No. 2 – Rachel Nguyen/Miranda Griechen (MSUM) def. Kjerstin Hall/Lauren Goth, 6-1
No. 3 – Emma Andersen/Madison Bell (MSUM) def. Sarah Johansen/Abbie Clayton, 6-0
Singles
No. 1 – Geske (MSUM) def. Washa, 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 – Lorissa Yuen (MSUM) def. Dokke, 6-0, 6-0
No. 3 – Nguyen (MSUM) def. Goth, 6-0, 6-2
No. 4 – Mikaela Griechen (MSUM) def. Hall, 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 – Miranda Griechen (MSUM) def. Clayton, 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 – Andersen (MSUM) def. Johansen, 6-1, 6-1
SMSU 4, MSU Moorhead 3
Doubles
No. 1 — Geske/Mikaela Griechen (MSUM) def. Mae Flight/Courtenay Leonard, 6-4
No. 2 — Gwen Sior/Cora Delich (SMSU) def. Yuen/Miranda Griechen, 6-3
No. 3 — Andersen/Bell (MSUM) def. Maja Louisa Harck/Silvia Poulakidas, 6-2
Singles
No. 1 — Flight (SMSU) def. Geske, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
No. 2 — Leonard (SMSU) def. Yuen, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 — Harck (SMSU) def. Nguyen, 6-3, 6-0
No. 4 — Mikaela Griechen (MSUM) def. Sior, 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 — Delich (SMSU) def. Miranda Griechen, 6-4, 6-0
No. 6 — Andersen (MSUM) def. Poulakidis, 6-2, 6-2
