MINNEAPOLIS – Nearly 24 hours after clinching at least a share of the conference crown, the Carleton College women’s tennis team won the MIAC regular-season title outright thanks to a 7-2 triumph over a regionally-ranked University of St. Thomas squad.
This is Carleton’s fifth conference title over the last eight years. When the Knights claimed the crown in 2012, it snapped Gustavus Adolphus’ 20-year run atop the MIAC. Carleton has since added regular-season titles in 2014, 2016, 2017, and now 2019.
“It’s great to have the opportunity to have another successful season,” said Carleton head coach Luciano Battaglini. “I feel like everyone learned a lot about the game, but most importantly, tennis gives these young ladies the opportunity to learn more about themselves. I’m very happy for what they were able to accomplish this year.”
Due to cool, wet weather, the match against St. Thomas (11-4, 7-3 MIAC) was moved indoors to the Baseline Tennis Center. The Knights (16-2, 10-0 MIAC) jumped out to a 2-1 lead after doubles.
Kristina Conrad (Sr./Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) and Madeline Prins (Jr./Pacific Palisades, Calif./Palisades Charter) cruised to an 8-2 victory atop the doubles lineup, while Elizabeth Yim (So./Orange, Calif./Villa Park) and Sonya Romanenko (Fy./San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) added an 8-6 win at the third spot.
Upon moving to singles, Carleton quickly claimed the missing three points to secure the team victory.
Romanenko and Conrad both closed out perfect 10-0 seasons against conference opponents. The former prevailed 6-2, 6-0 at first singles, while the latter rallied for a 2-6, 6-0, 1-0 (10-6) triumph at the third slot.
Jeanny Zhang (Fy./Guangzhou, China/Dwight School) improved to 9-0 in MIAC play with her 6-1, 6-3 victory at second singles. Prins added her 16th dual match victory of the year as she notched a 6-1, 6-4 result at the fourth spot.
Faith Yim (So./Orange, Calif./Villa Park) closed out the scoring for the Knights with her 6-4, 6-1 win at the sixth spot in the lineup.
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS
As the top seed, Carleton has secured home court advantage throughout the MIAC Playoffs. The Knights receive an opening round bye and will host either No. 4 seed St. Thomas, No. 5 Saint Mary’s, or No. 6 St. Olaf on Friday, May 3 at 3:30 p.m.
