NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton College women's tennis team clinched its 19th consecutive trip to the MIAC Playoffs with a 9-0 victory at cross-town rival St. Olaf College. The Knights improved to 15-0 on the season at 7-0 in conference matches. They are now 119-10 (.922) in MIAC matches over the last 15 years.
 
Carleton swept the doubles matches to quickly take control of the match. The tandem of Amelia Asfaw (So./Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep) and Mary Hose (Jr./Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge) secured an 8-4 victory at No. 1 doubles. Alise Pedersen (Sr./San Anselmo, Calif./The Branson School) and Miriam Shteyman (So./Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) teamed up to win 8-3 at No. 3 doubles. In between, Mariam Nechiporuk (So./Portland, Ore./Lake Oswego) and Ingrid Smith (So./Edina, Minn./Edina) prevailed 8-1 at the second slot to improved that duo's record to 9-0 this season.
 
In singles, Asfaw dropped the first set at No. 1 singles 6-2 and trailed 5-2 in the second set before putting together an impressive comeback. She won five straight games to claim the second set 7-5 and then won the super tiebreaker 10-2. She improved to 9-1 on the season.
 
The other five Knights had easier times in winning their singles matches, all in straight sets.
 
Hose notched her sixth straight victory, topping her opponent at No. 2 singles by a 6-0, 6-1 margin. Nechiporuk improved to 11-0 on the year with her 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 3 singles, while Shteyman prevailed by the same score at the fourth slot.
 
Smith is now 10-1 in singles after registering a 6-1, 6-1 result at the No. 5 spot, and Zoe Rose (So./Tacoma, Wash./Charles Wright Academy) improved to a team-best 13-0 on the year after dominating her foe at No. 6 singles by the same score.
 
Since the conference went to the current postseason format in 2007, Carleton and Gustavus Adolphus College are the only schools to make the MIAC Playoffs each year that the team's engaged in intercollegiate competition. In fact, they are also the only schools to do so each season since 2016. (NOTE: The MIAC did not hold its conference tournament in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Knights elected not to compete during the 2020-21 season for the same reason.)
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton closes the regular season with three home matches. First up is a 3:30 p.m. contest against Macalester College slated for Sunday, April 16.