“I'm just really proud of the team and their effort today,” said ninth year head coach Kevin Grebin. “Coming back after losing some close matches earlier in the year to qualify for the tournament was an accomplishment in and of itself.”

“And the way they battled today–after we were swept 5-0 last year at the NSIC tournament—They've worked really hard to get here and we've got no reason to hang our heads,” he added.

USF closes the season with an 8-11 mark in dual match action (5-6 NSIC), while the second-seeded Marauders advance to the semifinal round to take on the no. 3 St. Cloud State Huskies at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning. 

U-Mary opened the morning with a 2-1 lead after posting victories at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. The Marauders' No. 2 pair of Hallie Welk and Kate O'Connell were the first off the court, as they knocked off USF senior Karlee Sieve and sophomore Emily Erickson, 8-1.

At top flight, sophomores Joey Bosch and Stacey Beard fell in a 7-1 deficit to Sarah Janes and Catherine Gibben but battled for three straight points, as Bosch connected on several forehand winners before Beard capped the rally with an angled shot to the left corner pocket that cut U-Mary's lead to 7-4. The Cougar tandem took Janes and Gibben to deuce on the next point, but an ill-timed double fault gave the Marauders break point and U-Mary took the match 8-4 when Beard's return went long. 

The attention moved to court three, where the USF freshmen tandem of Kara Bunkers and Abby Seigenthaler recovered from a 4-1 and 5-2 deficit to stage a nail-biting comeback against Meredith Holt and Anastasia Bruss. The former Roosevelt HS teammates calmly talked their way through each point and also utilized a number of Marauder unforced errors to tie the match at 7-all and sent it to a tiebreak. USF took the first point to lead 8-7 with Seigenthaler at the service line, who punctuated the comeback with an overhead smash that split the Marauder pair and clinched the match 9-7. 

As singles play commenced, Bosch couldn't hold off U-Mary's top netter Hallie Welk in first flight and fell in straight sets (2 & 0). Senior Molly Seigenthaler did her best to battle through a stomach illness but saw her collegiate career come to a close with a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Meredith Holt on court four. Meanwhile Kara Bunkers kept up her winning ways at No. 6, cruising to an easy straight sets win over Kate O'Connell (2 & 1).

At fifth flight, Junior Morgan DeLange played what Coach Grebin called “her best match of the season.” DeLange had lost in straight sets to Anastasia Bruss four weeks ago and returned the favor by notching a 6-4, 6-1 victory to finish the year at 10-8 overall in No. 5 singles.

Leading 4-3, U-Mary closed out of the match on court three, as Catherine Gibben defeated Emily Erickson, 6-4, 6-2.

The remaining No. 2 match on the court favored the Marauders when play was stopped.

“There are a lot of positives I can take from today as we move forward to next season,” said Grebin. 

Today's match was the last for four USF seniors: Rachel Hussey, Karlee Sieve, Julia Iversen and Molly Seigenthaler.


Singles competition

1. Welk, Hallie (MARY) def. Bosch, Joey (SF) 6-2, 6-0

2. Janes, Sarah (MARY) vs. Beard, Stacey (SF) 7-5, 4-0, unfinished

3. Gibben, Catherine (MARY) def. Erickson, Emily (SF) 6-4, 6-2

4. Holt, Meredith (MARY) def. Seigenthaler, Molly (SF) 6-1, 6-3

5. DeLange, Morgan (SF) def. Bruss, Anastasia (MARY) 6-4, 6-1

6. Bunkers, Kara (SF) def. O'Connell, Kate (MARY) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles competition

1. Janes, Sarah/Gibben, Catherine (MARY) def. Bosch, Joey/Beard, Stacey (SF) 8-4

2. Welk, Hallie/O'Connell, Kate (MARY) def. Sieve, Karlee/Erickson, Emily (SF) 8-1

3. Seigenthaler, Molly/Bunkers, Kara (SF) def. Holt, Meredith/Bruss, Anastasia (MARY) 9-7