For Immediate Release
Monday, March 1, 2021
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
Julia Geske (Sr, Rochester, Minn. / John Marshall HS) - MSU Moorhead
- Went 2-0 at No. 1 singles and doubles, helping the Dragons to wins over Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State
- Defeated UMD’s Sophie Lynch 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday and topped SCSU’s Sam Fitzpatrick 6-1, 6-0 on Sunday
- Teamed with Lorissa Yuen for 6-4 and 6-3 wins at No. 1 doubles

2021 NSIC Women's Tennis Stats

Other Top Performances
Margarita Chouliara (AUGIE) went 4-0 on Sunday with wins over Minnesota State and Sioux Falls.  She won in shutout form in singles, winning 6-0, 6-0 against both MSU and USF. Against Minnesota State, she won at No. 3 singles and against USF, she won at No. 4 singles. She also prevailed at No. 2 doubles for the perfect weekend.

Laney Rutkowski (BSU) led all BSU players in singles victories as the Beavers split a pair of NSIC matches on the road. She went 2-0 in the No. 5 singles slot. She earned a 6-0, 4-0 (retire) win Saturday to help lead BSU to a 5-2 victory over Upper Iowa. Sunday, she accounted for BSU’s only team point in a 6-1 loss at Winona State. She won her No. 5 singles match in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. In addition, she was 0-2 in doubles play as a member of BSU’s No.2 doubles pair.

Tasha Dembo (UMary) won both of her doubles and singles matches against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth. She defeated SCSU’s Samantha Fitzpatrick 6-3, 6-2 at No. 1 singles and teamed with Yusra Hegy to win 6-0 at No. 1 doubles. She defeated UMD’s Sophie Lynch 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1 singles and teamed with Hegy again to win 6-2 versus UMD at No.1 doubles.

Jill Kedrowski (SCSU) won her 100th career dual match with two singles wins against UMary and MSU Moorhead. She won both matches as St. Cloud State’s No. 3 singles player and defeated Mary’s Jamie Stoppler 7-6, 6-1 on Saturday for career win 99 before downing Rachel Ngyuen in straight sets 7-5, 6-1 on Saturday. She is the first player to record 100 career dual matches since 2017-18, according to available records.

Jessa Michieli (UIU) did not lose a match over two games on the weekend, claiming six of the seven sets that she played over two NSIC Duals. After picking up a win in No. 2 doubles on Saturday against Bemidji State, she earned a team point in the dual following an exciting 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8) win in the No. 2 singles match after being down 5-1 in the third set tiebreaker. On Sunday against Minnesota Crookston, she claimed a 6-0 victory in No. 2 doubles before winning her No. 2 singles match 6-4, 6-1 to stay undefeated on the weekend.

Beth Murman (WSU), at the No. 1 singles position, claimed wins over Minnesota Crookston Tasha Achermann on Saturday, winning 6-2, 6-0. In doubles play against the Golden Eagles, Murman partnered with Brooke Jorgensen to sweep UMC 6-0. On Sunday, Murman battled Bemidji State’s Sophie Green and won in a tiebreaker, 6-3, 3-6, 10-8. Murman and Jorgensen also combined for a doubles win against BSU, winning 6-3.

 
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
3/1/21
Julia Geske - MSU Moorhead

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.