St. Peter, Minn. (blugolds.com) – The Blugold women's tennis team competed in the 2015 USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Championships and the Gustavus Fall Invitational held at Gustavus Adolphus College over the weekend. The tournaments ran from Friday through Sunday and featured 26 of the top teams in the region and more than 200 of the top players from the Midwest.
Six Blugolds competed in the main singles draw portion of the tournament including seniors, Paige Kuepers, and Colleen McCullough, junior Olivia Gallagher, sophomores Brooke Volpone, and Sarah Henderson, and freshman Kendra Berry. Olivia Gallagher had a career run that led the way for the Blugolds as she won her first two matches and lost in the round of 32 to Bellissimo of UW-LaCrosse.
Blugolds Coach Tom Gillman commented on a great first day in the doubles portion of the tournament. "We went undefeated in doubles over the first day of the tourney (8-0). That's something we have never done and reflects our work in doubles leadership, teamwork, and communication."
The pair of Gallagher and Kuepers had a great showing as they won their first two matches and lost in the round of 16 to a tough UW-Whitewater team. Henderson and McCullough also lost out in the round of 16 after winning their first two matches against Saint Mary's and St. Norbert.
A highlight for the Blugolds over the weekend was the duo of Brooke Volpone and Molly Sanvik who competed in the number one doubles draw of the Gustie Invite. The pair entered the weekend never competing together as a team. Volpone and Sanvik hit the ground running after a first round bye the team defeated Stoick/Neuman (Concordia) and then Sullivan/Thorsen (Gustavus) and earned their way into the semi-final. After an 8-6 win in the semi-final the duo went on to claim the championship defeating Crawl/Pearson (Luther) 8-4.
Individuals Hannah Koch (Duluth, MN/Duluth East), Jill Hultgren (Winona, MN), and Molly Sanvik (Winona, MN) competed in the Gustie invite individual tournament. The pairs of Gallagher/Kuepers and Hultgren/Berry participated in the number two draw doubles portion of the Gustie Invite.
Singles- ITA
Kendra Berry- Fr.(Duluth, MN/ Duluth East)
Round 128: def. Alicia Knoll (St. Catherine University) 7-5, 5-7, 10-5
Round 64: lost to Taylor Bolyard (Carthage) 3-6, 0-6
Round 128: def. Libby Protz (Edgewood College) 6-2, 6-2
Round 64: lost to Kenda Woyahn (UW-LaCrosse) 3-6, 4-6
Round 128: def. Emily Butler (Hamline University) 6-0, 6-0
Round 64: lost to Amy Sebastian (Coe College) 1-6, 2-6
Round 128: lost to Angie Lorenzen (St. Catherine University) 7-6, 9-0, 4-6, 5-10
Olivia Gallagher- Jr. (Lodi, WI)
Round 128: def. Judith Fan (Grinnell College) 7-6, 4-0, 7-5
Round 64: def. Laura Birky (Coe College) 5-7, 7-5, 10-6
Round 32: lost to Bridget Bellissimo (UW-LaCrosse) 0-6, 1-6
Round 128: First round bye
Round 64: lost to Jillian Wallace (UW-Whitewater) 1-6, 5-7
Olivia Gallagher/Paige Kuepers
Round 64: def. Anna Gosz/Ashley Randazzo (St. Norbert) 8-4
Round 32: def. Erin McDonald/ Maya MacGibbons (St. Olaf) 8-6
Round 16: lost to Megan Humphreys/ Bridgid McGuire (UW-Whitewater) 0-8
Round 64: def Kirsten Hoffmann/Laura Sonday (Saint Mary's University) 8-5
Round 32: def Katherine Ake/Elizabeth Manlick (St. Norbert) 8-4
Round 16: lost to Ally Baker/Michaela Schulz (Gustavus Adolphus) 6-8
Singles- Gustie Invite
No. 1 Sinlges Hannah Koch-Fr. (Duluth, MN/ Duluth East)
Round 16: lost to Emiley Sodermann (UW-Whitewater) 0-8
No. 2 Singles Jill Hultgren-Fr. (Winona, MN)
Round 16: def. Rachel Seldner (Macalester) 8-5
Quarter-final: lost to Lauren Goebel (Carroll) 3-6, 6-7
No. 4 Singles Molly Sanvik-Fr. (Winona, MN)
Round 16: lost to Sydney Banach (Grinnell) 4-8
No. 1 Doubles – Gustie Invite
Brooke Volpone/Molly Sanvik
Round 32: Bye
Round 16: def. Stoick/Neuman (Concordia) 8-4
Round 8: def. Sullivan/Thorsen (Gustavus) 8-6
Round 4: def. Peterson/Flavia (Carthage) 8-6
Championship: def. Crawl/Pearson (Luther) 8-4
No. 2 Doubles- Gustie Invite
Olivia Gallagher/ Paige Kuepers
Round 32: lost to Taylor Nordhausen/Justine Bennett (Bethany)
Jill Hultgren/Kendra Berry
Round 32: def. Laura Martin/Lauren Ihle (Gustavus) 8-5
Round 16: def. Tina Matetich/Nikki Edin (Northwestern) 8-5
Round 8: lost to Barter/Kalinka (Carthage) 2-8