THIS WEEK
After four non-conference matches in Florida followed by a weekend off, the University of Mary tennis team returns to the court this weekend for their final home appearances of the year. The Marauders return to Northern Sun action on Saturday, March 18, when UMary hosts the University of Sioux Falls in a 9 am match. The home schedule wraps up Sunday, March 19, with a visit from 11^th ranked Augustana University. 1^st serve is slated for 1 pm. Marauders home tennis matches are played at the Mandan Tennis Center in Mandan, ND.
 
THE RECORD
The Marauders are 4-3 overall and 3-0 in the Northern Sun. UMary is tied for first in the NSIC with Augustana and Winona State… Sioux Falls is 6-3/1-2… #11 Augie is 9-2/3-0. The Vikings have won 11 straight NSIC tournaments and 140 straight NSIC regular season matches.
 
NEW HOME
The Marauders have a new home this season across the river. UMary is playing its matches at the Mandan Tennis Center in Mandan, ND. The new facility opened this winter with the Marauders playing the first match at the MTC on February 19, a 5-2 win over MSU Moorhead.
 
FAST START
The Marauders jumped out to an impressive start this season. UMary captured three straight NSIC matches and downed Adrian College 5-2 in Florida to extend the squad's string to four. A loss to NCAA Division I Oakland University halted the Marauders run. UMary looks to get back into the win column this weekend against USF and Augie.
 
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Freshman Hala Hossam Awad is off to a tremendous start to her Marauders career. Awad is 6-1 in singles with her lone loss in a match against NCAA Division 1 Oakland University. In doubles play she has combined with Doaa Farouk Mohamed for a record of 5-2.
 
FIREPOWER
The Marauders top three are having impressive success in year two at UMary. Chloe Chong, Doaa Farouk Mohamed and Ilona Freitag are all 5-2 in singles play. In doubles the Chong and Freitag duo are a combined 6-1 with Mohamed and Hala Hossam Awad  sitting at 5-2.
 
TWO FOR TWO
UMary has played two weekends of Northern Sun competition. Both times Marauders earned NSIC Tennis Player of the Week honors.
 
An epic effort in the first match of the 2023 season earned Doaa Farouk Mohamed NSIC hoors after leading UMary to a 5-2 win over MSU Moorhead. Mohamed picked up a pair of wins for the Marauders in the NSIC opener. In the first action of the day the sophomore teamed with Hala Hossam Awad for a 6-3 win in the #2 doubles matchup as UMary played its first ever match at the Mandan Tennis Center. The native of Cairo, Egypt, followed with a marathon victory in #1 singles, outlasting the Dragons Shaelyn Johnson 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) in a back-and-forth match. It was the first time Mohamed, who earned 2022 All-NSIC doubles 2nd team honors, had played #1 singles for UMary after rolling up a 14-2 record last season in the third slot.
 
Mohamed is the first Marauders tennis player to earn NSIC weekly honors since Tasha Dembo earned the conference recognition for the sixth time on February 23, 2021.
 
A perfect weekend for Chloe Chong earned the sophomore NSIC weekly honor next to give the Marauders back-to-back winners. Bumped up a slot to #1 singles, Chong was more than up to the challenge. The native of Selangor, Malaysia, won both her singles matches in straight sets. She opened with a 6-4, 6-1 win over the University of Minnesota Duluth's Shay Callaway. The 2022 All-NSIC first team singles player was even more impressive the next day when she shut out Orianna Grott of St. Cloud State University 6-0, 6-0. Combining forces with Ilona Freitag at #1 doubles, the returning second team All-NSIC doubles partners made short work of their opponents. Chong and Freitag defeated their UMD opposition 6-1 before eliminating their SCSU foes 6-2.
 
HONORS
Four current Marauders earned 2022 All-Northern honors. Chloe Chong was an a first team All-NSIC  singles selection. Ilona Freitag was named to the All-NSIC Singles second team. Chong and Freitag combined forces to receive 2^nd team All-NSIC doubles recognition. Additionally Doaa Farouk Mohamed and Emily Needham were named to the All-NSIC doubles second team.
 
THE STAFF
Vida Saliendra returns for her 11th year as the UMary Head Tennis Coach. Saliendra has had an impressive career at the helm of Marauders Tennis, riding into 2023 on four consecutive winning seasons. The Marauders are 86-75 with Saliendra as their coach. She is joined by assistant coach Erik Porter, who is in his first season with the Marauders.
 
WATCH
A link to the live streams from each court at the Mandan Tennis Center can be found at www.goumary.com/coverage
 
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