SIOUX FALLS – After opening the 2021-22 season with a victory, the University of Sioux Falls Tennis Team (1-0, 0-0 NSIC) is set to open the NSIC season with matches against Minnesota Duluth (1-2, 1-1 NSIC) on Saturday, Feb. 12 and St. Cloud State (2-0, 2-0 NSIC) on Sunday, Feb. 13.

Directed by veteran head coach Kevin Grebin, the Cougars face UMD at 1 pm on Saturday, Feb. 12 in Duluth, Minn. They will then meet SCSU at 9 am on Sunday, Feb. 13, also in Duluth, Minn.

Quick Season Review - Cougars beat Morningside, 6-1
The Cougars opened the season with a 6-1 nonconference win against Morningside College on Feb. 6. In the match up, USF won five singles matches in six played while sweeping doubles. The victory was the 79^th by Grebin in the DII era with his team owning 54 league wins in that time.

At No. 1 singles senior Megan Quandt rallied to defeat Emily Clotfelter, 4-6, 6-1, 10-7 while sophomore Danielle Thorfinnson, senior Joelle Thorfinnson and freshmen Emily Thinnsen and Katelyn Nesheim all recorded straight set wins. Quandt/Talia Janos opened the season with a dominating 6-1 win at No. 1 doubles while D. Thorfinnson/J. Thorfinnson recorded a 6-4 win at No. 2 and Thinnsen/Nesheim also won, 6-1, at No. 3 doubles.

Opponents – Series Records
UMD, which is directed by seventh year Head Coach Jessica Worden, has opened the season 1-2 with a loss at home against the College of St. Scholastica, an NSIC loss to Minnesota Crookston, 5-2; and a NSIC win over Bemidji State, 6-1.

In the all-time series, USF holds a 5-4 lead which includes a 5-2 win on Feb. 20, 2021 in Sioux Falls. USF won the opening four matches of the series including the first match, 8-1, on April 17, 2013. UMD won four straight from April 9, 2017, to Feb. 22, 2020.

At 9 am, on Sunday, Feb. 13, USF will face St. Cloud State, which has opened 2-0 with a pair of league wins over Minnesota Crookston, 6-1; and Bemidji State, 4-3.  SCSU, directed by fourth year Head Coach Berit Merrill, will face Augustana on Saturday, Feb. 12 before meeting USF on Sunday.

In the all-time series, USF leads, 6-5, and has won four straight matches including a 4-3 decision on Feb. 21, 2021. SCSU won the first match ever between the schools with a 9-0 decision on April 10, 2009.

Breaking it down – Look at USF Tennis
The Cougars, which had a 7-6 overall mark with a 7-4 league finish in 2021, is a veteran team with a number of talented newcomers in the fold. USF was picked to finish seventh in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll.

After recording a second straight winning season &-6, 7-4 NSIC) and the fifth in the DII era in 2021, USF has won at least five matches in the nine tennis seasons in the NSIC. Of that total, USF has six winning NSIC records.

As the season gets underway, USF will be a deep and veteran team with numerous talented newcomers. Leading the way will be USF's Player to Watch senior Joelle Thorfinnson, who will play No. 4 singles and No. 2 doubles. Thorfinnson, who was the program's first-ever CoSIDA Academic All-District VII honoree, is a three time Academic All-NSIC recipient and a three-time ITA Academic honoree. With a 34-15 career mark and 25-10 in the NSIC, Thorfinnson, along with senior Megan Quandt, has led USF Tennis to a 34-27 overall record, three NSIC Tournament appearances and a 26-13 league mark during her time at USF.

Quandt (20-11 singles, 25-33 doubles) also is a three-time Academic All-NSIC honoree. Sophomore Talia Janos (3-7 singles, 6-5 doubles) will be at No. 2 with Danielle Thorfinnson  (6-4 singles, 5-5 doubles) set at No. 3 but playing No. 2 doubles with her sister. Freshmen Emily Thinnsen will be at No. 5 singles and stands 1-0 while Katelyn Nesheim (1-0), will play at No. 6 singles. Thinnsen and Nesheim will be USF's No. 3 doubles squad.

After this weekend, USF travels to face Minnesota State at 4 pm on Feb. 19 and SMSU at 7 am on Feb. 20 in Owatonna, Minn.