For Immediate Release
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
Tasha Dembo (Sr., Harare, Zimbabwe / Cowley County CC) - University of Mary
- Won both of her doubles and singles matches against Upper Iowa and Winona State
- Defeated UIU's Varvara Ogorodnikova 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 at No. 1 singles
- Teamed with Yusra Hegy to win 6-1 at No. 1 doubles versus UIU
- Defeated WSU's Beth Murman 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 at No. 1 singles
- Teamed with Hegy again to win 6-2 versus WSU at No. 1 double

2021 NSIC Women's Tennis Stats

Other Top Performances
Emily Granson (AUGIE) helped the Vikings go 2-0 over the weekend with victories over SCSU and UMD.  Granson, playing No. 5 singles and Saturday and No. 4 singles on Sunday, did not lose a point in a pair of 6-0, 6-0 victories. In addition, Granson partnered with Aleksandra Kistanova to go 2-0 in doubles action. For the season, Granson is undefeated at 4-0 in singles and 4-0 in doubles.

Shaelyn Johnson (BSU) went 4-0 leading Bemidji State to a NSIC split on the road. She teamed up with Sophie Groen to earn a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles before a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles to propel BSU to a 7-0 sweep of Minnesota State. Later in the day, she and Groen again won in the No. doubles spot (6-1) and she edged out SMSU’s No. 2 singles player 6-4, 7-6 to account one of BSU’s two singles victories in a 4-3 loss to Southwest Minnesota State. Johnson is 4-1 in singles play this season with all five of her matches played in the No. 2 slot, while she is a perfect 5-0 in doubles play this season pairing with Groen and Claudie Billand at No. 1 Doubles.

Julia Geske (MSUM) improved to 4-0 with two more wins at No. 1 singles. She defeated Winona State’s Beth Murman 7-5, 6-1 helping MSUM edge Warriors 4-3. She also defeated Varvara Ogorodnikova of Upper Iowa at 6-4, 7-5. She a also went 1-1 in doubles. 

Joelle Thorfinnson (USF) led USF to a pair of NSIC wins over UMD, 5-2; and SCSU, 4-3, by going a combined 4-0 in singles and doubles. At No. 5 singles, Thorfinnson won in straight sets against both UMD and SCSU and lost a total of six games. In doubles she paired with her sister, Danielle, to win a pair of closely contested doubles matches. Against UMD, they won 7-6 (7-5) and against SCSU, 7-6 (7-3). She is 3-1 on the season at No. 5 singles with a 3-0 NSIC record. She is 2-2 in doubles with a 2-1 doubles mark in league play.
 
Maja Louisa Harck (SMSU), last week’s NSIC Player of the Week, remained undefeated on the season winning both singles matches and both doubles matches this Sunday in wins over Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. In singles play, she earned a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 3 versus UMC and a 6-1, 7-6 victory at No. 5 versus BSU. She then teamed with Courtenay Leonard in doubles plays to earn 6-1 and 6-4 victories at No. 2.

Rina Niehoff (WSU) claimed two wins, as the Warriors went 1-1 on the weekend. Niehoff beat MSU-Moorhead’s #3 singles selection 6-1, 6-3 and beat UMary’s Jaime Stoppler 7-6 (2), 7-5 on Sunday.
 
NSIC Women's Tennis Players of the Week
2/9/21
Valeriya Monko - Augustana
2/16/21
Maja Louisa Harck  - SMSU
2/23/21
Tasha Dembo - University of Mary

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men’s league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women’s league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a 16-team union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 23 team national championships and crowned 77 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes have the opportunity to earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA’s three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.