FARGO, N.D. - Heading out on the road for the final time this season, the University of Mary Women's Tennis team will travel to Fargo, N.D., to take on Upper Iowa University and Winona State University as the Marauders wrap up their conference schedule.
 
The Marauders (4-9, 4-5 NSIC) were on a break last week but are still fresh off a weekend sweep of the University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University.
 
U-Mary cruised to an easy 9-0 victory over the Golden Eagles as the Marauders earned shutouts in six of the nine matchups. Sarah Janes and Catherine Gibbens won 8-0 in the number one doubles spot, followed by an 8-0 victory for Meredith Holt and Courtney Brackin in the number two spot, and capped off with an 8-0 victory for Anastasia Bruss and Kate O'Connell in the number three spot.
 
Carrying their momentum into the singles matchups, Janes earned the victory at the number one spot, 6-1 and 6-3. Gibbens responded with a 6-2 and 6-1 win at the number two spot and U-Mary hit a groove as the next three singles matchups were all won in straight 6-0 sets. Holt, Bruss, and O'Connell were unstoppable and Brackin rounded out the day with a 6-0 and 6-1 win at the number six spot.
 
U-Mary wasn't done on the weekend as they took on Bemidji State the next day, and the match turned into a close contest with the Marauders edging out the Beavers, 5-4, as Holt secured the win.
 
Holt and Brackin got U-Mary on the board first as they won the number two doubles matchup 8-5 after the Marauders lost the number one spot. O'Connell and Bruss came in at the number three spot and cruised to an easy 8-1 victory to put the Marauders up 2-1 on the match.
 
Things started to turn south for the Marauders starting with the number one singles matchup as Janes had to retire so that she would not risk re-injury after her opponent held a 5-4 lead in the first set.
 
Brackin and Bruss were there to pick her up as they both won their matchups to put the Marauders up 4-2 but the Beavers proved too much for Gibbens and O'Connell to tie the match up at 4-4.
 
Holt's matchup at the number three spot became the deciding factor in the match as she won the first set 6-3, but her opponent came right back and tied the matchup after a 6-3 second set victory.
 
Of course the super tiebreaker couldn't be decided by going to 10 so Holt fought hard and ultimately came out on top with a 12-10 victory over her opponent and sealed the win for the Marauders at 5-4.
 
In conference, the Marauders are ninth with their 4-5 conference record and they are directly behind the University of Minnesota Duluth, who also has a 4-5 record but own the tiebreaker over U-Mary since the Bulldogs won the matchup earlier in the year. With wins over Winona State and Upper Iowa, the Marauders would be in good position to make the conference tournament since only the top eight teams will get invited.
 
The Marauders will take on Upper Iowa first on Saturday, April 11, and the Peacocks will provide a tough matchup, as they are second in conference with an 8-1 record and 10-5 overall. Upper Iowa's only loss in conference was against Augustana College and the Vikings won that match easily at 9-0. However, the Peacocks own perfect 9-0 victories over Minnesota Crookston, Bemidji State, Minnesota State University, Southwest Minnesota State University, and St. Cloud State University. They also defeated Minnesota Duluth and Winona State 8-1 and, aside from Augustana, will be the toughest match for U-Mary on the year.
 
Winona State is sixth in conference with a 5-4 record, 6-8 overall, and the Warriors are on a five-match slide with the last three losses coming against Upper Iowa, the University of Sioux Falls, and Augustana. Winona State's wins in conference came against Bemidji State, Minnesota Crookston, Minnesota Duluth, and St. Cloud State, but have only managed one win in their last seven matches. The Marauders will need solid play all around in order to come away with the victory.
 
Since this will be the last week of conference play for U-Mary, they will have next week off before the start of the conference tournament. The tournament is slated to begin on Saturday, April 25, and will be hosted in Minnetonka, Minn.
 
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