Northwestern's Moe repeats as Player of the Year to lead UMAC women's tennis awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The 2017 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women's tennis season saw both the College of St. Scholastica and University of Northwestern share the conference title after splitting their regular season series. This week, the two teams earned NCAA championship berths and headline the All-UMAC awards with five selections each, while Northwestern took the top two individual honors, announced Tuesday.
For the second time in as many seasons, Northwestern singles star Karen Moe was selected as the UMAC Player of the Year while Eagles' coach Matt Swigart was named Coach of the Year after leading his squad toa 24-6 overall record and their third conference title in four seasons.
St. Scholastica took the opening match against Northwestern 7-2 at home before falling on the road in a narrow 5-4 loss in April – one that ensured the Eagles a share of the title. The Saints edged out the Eagles in a hard fought conference tournament championship match 6-3 Saturday to end the Eagles' tournament title streak at three-straight.
Northwestern's success this season can be attributed in part to the outstanding play of four-time All-UMAC selection Moe. The senior went a remarkable 29-0 this season at No. 1 singles and took down all of her UMAC opponents in straight sets. She dropped just 12 total games in her 10 conference matches and only four in the tournament.
Moe also went 9-1 at No. 1 doubles in conference matches and 25-5 overall this season. She finishes her spectacular four-year career with 195 wins between singles and doubles and is ranked No. 16 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Region for individuals.
The co-champion Saints also finished 9-1 in the UMAC and 18-5 overall as they also prepare for the NCAA Championships. The five Saints selected to all-conference put together quite an impressive season compiling a collective 23-3 singles record and 21-2 doubles record.
Madeleine Scanlan of St. Scholastica was the only other UMAC player aside from Moe to earn her fourth-consecutive All-UMAC honor of her career. Scanlan is one of the winningest players in Saints' program history. Over the last two seasons, Scanlan has played primarily at No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles.
Brooke Lapinski of Northwestern makes her third-straight appearance on the All-UMAC team after recording her 100th career win this year. Jessica Solberg ends her career with her second-consecutive honor and third of her career. The senior has been the team's No. 1 singles player over the last two seasons and became the winningest No. 1 doubles player in program history this season.
The Saints also had two other players who earned back-to-back all-conference accolades in Sarah Coryell and Elise Hauer. Katelyn Rice rounded out the Saints' five winners, while Nikki Edin, Emily Knight and Rachel Lukkarila complete the Eagles' five honorees. Third-place finisher Martin Luther College had two honorees earn All-UMAC in Anna Hemmelmen and Rachel Riediger.
Each year the UMAC recognizes the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represented sportsmanship throughout the entire season. Northwestern earned the honor for the fourth-consecutive season. Each team also had one representative on the individual sportsmanship award list.
Player of the Year Award* – Karen Moe, Jr., Northwestern
Coach of the Year Award – Matt Swigart, Northwestern
First-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Hometown/High School |
| Sarah Coryell |
Jr. |
St. Scholastica |
Golden Valley, Minn./Armstrong |
| Nikki Edin |
So. |
Northwestern |
Staples, Minn./Staples-Motley |
| Elise Hauer |
So. |
St. Scholastica |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth East |
| Anna Hemmelman |
Fy. |
Martin Luther |
Winona, Minn./Luther |
| Emily Knight |
So. |
Northwestern |
Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge |
| Brooke Lapinski |
Jr. |
Northwestern |
Chanhassen, Minn./Chanhassen |
| Rachel Lukkarilla |
Fy. |
Northwestern |
Becker, Minn./Homeschool |
| Karen Moe* |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Fargo, N.D./Fargo South |
| Rachel Riediger |
Jr. |
Martin Luther |
West Salem, Wis./Luther |
| Katelyn Rice |
So. |
St. Scholastica |
Eveleth, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert |
| Madeleine Scanlan |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
St. Albans, England/Loreto College |
| Jessica Solberg |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Northwestern
Bethany Lutheran – Justine Bennett, Jr., River Falls, Wis./River Falls
Martin Luther – Anna Hemmelman, Fy., Winona, Minn./Luther
Minnesota Morris – Hanna Gasaway, Fy., Roseville, Minn./Roseville
North Central – Madalyn Meetz, Fy., Omro, Wis./Oshkosh West
Northwestern – Brooke Lapinski, Jr.,Chanhassen, Minn./Chanhassen
St. Scholastica – Sarah Coryell, Jr., Golden Valley, Minn./Armstrong