MOORHEAD, Minn. -- MSU Moorhead tennis looks to secure a spot in the NSIC Tennis Tournament this weekend as the Dragons conclude the 2024-25 regular season. MSUM is set to take on Bemidji State on Friday at 1:30 p.m. before battling Minnesota Crookston on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Both duals will take place in Grand Forks, N.D. at Choice Health & Fitness. The Dragons last competed on April 4 and 5 in losses to Sioux Falls and Augustana. 

Against the Coo, MSUM would win the valued doubles point with two wins in three matches. Shaelyn Johnson and Luzmary Diaz Castillo would collect their 14^th win of the season in a 6-2 victory. The win moved the pairing one win closer to the single-season school record which stands at 15 victories. Claire Nemmers and Katryna Hansen would secure the team point for the Dragons, defeating Jaelyn Haler and Emma Rangel, 6-2. The win was the duo's eighth of the season. 
 
Singles play would turn into an absolute battle for both teams as Johnson collected a hard-fought three-set win. Johnson would take the first set 7-6 behind a 7-1 tiebreak before falling in the second set 7-5. The graduate student had a 4-1 lead in the final set before her opponent retired, securing the match for Johnson. Diaz Castillo, Sophia Felderman and Tiannah Gu would take their matches to three sets, but each would fall. Felderman narrowly dropped the third set via a 7-1 tiebreak. To close out singles play, Nemmers would secure her sixth win of the season in straight sets over Jaelyn Haler. Nemmers topped Haeler, 6-3, 6-3. 

On Senior Day against the Vikings, it was the graduate student Johnson who would claim the lone victory in singles action for MSUM. Johnson lost a close first set to Nichole Dufour 7-5 before taking a small 2-1 lead in the second set. From there, Dufour would retire the match, earning Johnson her 12^th singles win of the season. Dufour was ranked 67th in the ITA singles rankings heading into the match. 

Currently, the pairing of Diaz Castillo and Johnson lead the team with their 14 doubles wins, which is one off the single-season school record. Diaz Casillo also leads the roster with 14 singles wins, two shy of tying the single-season record held by head coach Alexis Konecne. Gu and Johnson are not far behind Diaz Castillo, with 13 and 12 singles wins respectively. The freshman Felderman also holds 10 wins in 2024-25. 

The Dragon Lineup
Records include fall competition

Doubles
No. 1 - Luzmary Diaz Castillo/Shaelyn Johnson (14-5)
No. 2 - Tiannah Gu/Sophia Felderman (6-9)
No. 3 - Katryna Hansen/Claire Nemmers (8-5)

Singles
No. 1 - Shaelyn Johnson (12-10)
No. 2 - Luzmary Diaz Castillo (13-7)
No. 3 - Katryna Hansen (7-13)
No. 4 - Sophia Felderman (10-9)
No. 5 - Tiannah Gu (13-6)
No. 6 - Claire Nemmers (6-10)


Alexis Konecne is in her third season as MSUM's head tennis coach.