SLIAC Women's Tennis Tournament Preview
Posted: Apr 14, 2015

SLIAC Women's Tennis Tournament Preview

This week's SLIAC Game of the Week is the 2015 SLIAC Women's Tennis Tournament. This weekend the first SLIAC champion of the spring season will be crowned. Teams vying for the title will be Blackburn, Fontbonne, Greenville, Principia, Webster, and Westminster.

At a Glance
The 2015 SLIAC Women's Tennis Tournament will take place April 17-18 in St. Louis, Mo. at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park. The tournament will feature a head to head style match-up with five matches scheduled for Friday and two more on Saturday. The tournament is a double elimination format.

Tournament Schedule
Friday, April 17 - 11:00 a.m.
Match 1: #3- Greenville College vs. #6- Blackburn College
Match 2: #4- Westminster College vs. #5- Fontbonne University
Friday, April 17 - 2 p.m.
Match 3: #1- Webster University vs. Winner of Match 2
Match 4: #2- Principia College vs. Winner of Match 1
Match 5: Loser of Match 1 vs. Loser of Match 2 (Fifth Place Match)
Saturday, April 18 - 11 a.m.
Match 6: Loser of Match 3 vs. Loser of Match 4 (Third Place Match)
Match 7: Winner of Match 3 vs. Winner of Match 4 (Championship Match)

Blackburn College
Blackburn had a light spring schedule, playing in just eight matches. The Beavers are coming off their best performance of the spring, a 5-4 loss to Stephens. On the year Danielle Koskie, Elizabeth Orr, Carly Vunetich, and Megan Williamson have each notched singles wins for the Beavers. Williamson, the team's #1 player, picked up her lone win of the year against Stephens last weekend; winning 6-7, 6-4, 10-6. In doubles play Best and Williamson picked up a #1 doubles victory this year while the #3 doubles team of Samantha Brown and Elizbaeth Orr led Blackburn with two wins.

 

 

Fontbonne University
Fontbonne went 1-13 overall this year including a 1-3 record in conference play. The Griffins picked up a 6-3 win over Blackburn for their lone SLIAC victory of the season. Celeste Herrmann led the Griffins with three singles wins on the year, all coming at the #2 spot. Heather Flick, #3 singles, and Caroline Grewe, #1 singles, each added two wins this season. In doubles play the team of Heather Flick and Annie Jones were the only Fontbonne team to notch a win, with three wins.

 

Greenville College
Greenville was 3-7 overall and went 2-2 in SLIAC play this spring. The Panthers are coming off a 8-1 conference win over Westminster. The Panthers have now won two of their last three matches coming into the tournament. Emily Rauch leads the Panthers with four wins this year, splitting the wins between #4 and #5 spots. Lexi Baysinger, #1 singles, and Amanda Scott, #3 singles, each added three wins this season. The doubles team of Baysinger and Lezlie Blaser-Friedline paced the Panthers with four wins as the #1 team.

 

Principia College

Principia finished the regular season with a 6-11 overall record and a 4-1 record in the conference. The Panthers had their four match winning streak snapped in their last outing on the courts, a 5-4 loss to Webster. Principia has been led by Hanne Andersen, who went 12-4 in dual play this year at the top spot. Lena Carlson added eight wins while Kelly Adams and Claire Horton each finished with seven singles victories. The top doubles team of Adams and Andersen went 11-4 on the year while the team of Carlson and Lilly Richards went undefeated with fivewins.

 

 

Webster University
Webster captured the top seed in the tournament with a 5-4 win over Principia last weekend. The Gorloks currently have an eight match winning streak entering the tournament and are 12-4 overall, going 5-0 in the SLIAC. Monica Behrle compiled the most wins in the SLIAC this season, going 15-1, including 13 wins at her typical #2 position. Marrisa Lewis recorded 13 singles wins, playing mostly at #1 singles. A total of five Gorloks piled up double digit wins in singles action this year. In doubles play the team of Behrle and Jesse Stephens-Willis went 9-2 from the #2 spot while the team of Kaylen Kress and Lewis tied for the team lead with nine doubles victories.

 

Westminster College
Westminster played just eight matches this spring but five of those matches have come since the start of April. They have won their last two matches and are 3-5 overall and went 2-3 in the SLIAC. The Blue Jays were led by Ellen Woolsey with four wins in singles play, all coming from the #4 spot. Laura Wiltshire and Laura Kelly each added three singles wins. In doubles play the team of Grace Sanford and Woolsey put together a team best 2-3 record while the teams Payton Beeler and Jessica Klutts and Kelly and Wiltshire also each added two wins.

 

Game Notes:

  • Principia has won a SLIAC record 18 Women's Tennis Tournament titles including the last two. 
  • Westminster has four SLIAC Tournament titles (1992, 1994, 2006, 2009).
  • Webster has two tournament championships (2010 and 2012).
  • Principia defeated Greenville in the championship match last year while Westminster topped Webster for third place.