MINNETONKA, MINN -- No. 6 University of Sioux Falls Tennis Team (8-9) battled No. 2 MSU-Moorhead (16-3) before dropping a 4-0 decision on Sunday (April 14) in the semifinals of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tennis Championship at Lifetime Fitness in Minnetonka, Minn. Cougars ended the season at 8-9 with second-ever semifinal berth in the league tourney.

"We played great and had some close contests in doubles and our singles play was inspired but we fell just short in a few crucial spots," said veteran USF Head Coach Kevin Grebin. "Overall I am so proud of the way we competed at conference. The energy was fantastic. I believe better things are ahead for USF Tennis," he said.

MSUM, which opened the season with a 7-0 win at USF, won two doubles matches to claim the single doubles point. Then, they outshot USF at No. 1, 2, and 3 singles to move onto the championship against No. 1 Augustana, which defeated No. 5 U-Mary, 4-0, on Sunday.

At No. 1 doubles, Chloe Jefferies and Joelle Thorfinnson, which came into the match 3-0 this season, battled Julia Geske and Olivia Keelin to a 5-5 decision as the match ended after MSUM won at No. 2 doubles and No. 3 doubles. At No2, MSUM took a 6-4 decision against USF sophomores Megan Quandt and Lexi Miller. At No. 3 doubles, MSUM took a 6-0 win over USF's team of freshman Victoria Ambrosia-Cueto and sophomore Rachel Klatt.

In singles, Jefferies had her five-match winning streak end in a 6-3, 6-4 setback to Geske at No. 1 singles. Jefferies ended the season at 10-5 at No. 1 singles.  Quandt (6-10) lost a hard-fought match to Lorissa Yuen at No. 2 by a tally of 7-5, 6-2. MSUM clinched the match with Rachel Nguyen's win over Miller (3-11) of USF, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 3 singles.

The No. 4, No. 5, and No.6 singles matches were unfinished with the match decided. Ambrosia-Cueto finished her first season at USF with a 4-7 singles mark at No. 4 while Rachel Klatt was 1-3 at No. 6. Klatt stepped in for Kelsie Sanders, who finished her career with a win on Saturday against Winona State and finished the season at 5-6. At No. 5, Thorfinnson concluded her season at 9-4. She trailed just 2-1 against MSUM when the match was called. She will take a five-match winning streak into her junior season next year.

Singles --

1. Julia Geske (MSUM) def. Chloe Jefferies (USF), 6-3, 6-4

2. Lorissa Yuen (MSUM) over Megan Quandt (USF), 7-5, 6-2

3. Rachel Nguyen (MSUM) def. Lexi Miller (USF), 6-3, 6-1

4. Alexis Konecne (MSUM) vs. Victoria Ambrosio-Cueto (USF), 3-1, unfinished

5. Olivia Keelin (MSUM) vs. Joelle Thorfinnson (USF), 2-1, unfinished

6. Jalyn Kornblum (MSUM) vs. Rachel Klatt (USF), 3-1, unfinished

Doubles –

1. Geske/Keelin (MSUM) vs. Jefferies/Thorfinnson (USF), 5-5, unfinished

2. Yuen/Nguyen (MSUM) def. Quandt/Miller (USF), 6-4

3. Emma Wood/Konecne (MSUM) over Ambrosio-Cueto/Klatt (USF), 6-0