On Friday the team championship welcomes back Grinnell (11-1, 4-0 MWC South) and St. Norbert (7-5, 3-1 MWC North) from last years championship and also welcomes newcomers Lawrence (9-4, 4-0 MWC North) and Lake Forest (11-3, 3-1 MWC South). The opening round matches will take place at 8 a.m. with Lake Forest taking on Lawrence and St. Norbert slated against Grinnell. On September 5, the Vikings defeated the Foresters 7-2, while the Pioneers and Green Knights did not meet during the regular season. The winners of the semifinal matches will meet at 1 p.m. for the championship match while the other two teams will battle in the third place match.

 

A year after finishing runner up to St. Norbert, the Buccaneers missed the team championship but look to improve on conference-high 44 singles and doubles champions at the 2010 championships. Beloit will enter this years tournament without there top player from a year ago, Erika Zevin, who was the Bucs lone champion last season in No. 2 singles. The Bucs top contender this season is sophomore Ashley Miglin, who has won nine straight matches to end the season and is 10-2 in the No. 6 flight. Emma Beck, another sophomore, who plays No. 4 Singles, will factor into the championship discussion as she is 10-5 this season in singles play. Alexandra Hinck and Julia Win team up in the No. 2 flight in doubles and have a 9-8 record this season while Miglin, partnered with Lily Rubenstein, are 9-1 on the season in No. 3 flight doubles.

 

Carroll enters the 2010 tournament looking for their first individual champion since 1999 when Jaclyn Sturman won the No. 6 singles title. The Pioneers just missed out on the team championship, finishing with a 2-2 record in MWC North play, but look to be a factor in the singles and doubles flights over the three day tournament. Alyssa Larson enters the championships with an 8-4 record in the No. 2 singles flight while Kara Paroubek is a combined 10-3 in the No. 4, 5 and 6 flights. Both Larson and Paroubek were a perfect 4-0 in singles conference play during the regular season. Elissa McKinley and Kate Wiseman are the Pioneers top doubles pair, going 8-4 on the season in the No. 3 flight with teammates Kara Paroubek and Megan Rosenberg ending the season with a 7-6 mark out of the No. 2 doubles flight.

 

Last season Grinnell had their five year championship streak snapped as they aim once again for the top spot after an impressive regular season. The Pioneers finished the season with a perfect 4-0 record in the MWC South Division, extending their division winning streak to 34 matches dating back to 2002. They also finished with only one blemish on their overall record, a September 11 loss to Coe College. Grinnell returns the defending No. 3 singles champion Constanza Alarcon who has continued to be impressive this season in the No. 2 flight where she is 8-1. Hanna Feldman is a combined 14-1 on the season in four different flights and has won her last 12 singles matches. Alarcon pairs with Catherine Fitch to return to defend their No. 2 flight doubles championship and went 6-2 out of that flight in the regular season. Morgan Counts and Clothilde Thirouin also teamed up this season to go 10-1 overall, 3-0 in the No. 2 flight and 5-0 in the No. 3 flight, to be a top contender for Grinnell this year.

 

Illinois College will have to replace its top performer from a year ago in Candace Norville as the Lady Blues look for their first singles or doubles champion in school history. Kristen Havelka will play in the No. 1 singles flight, compiling a 2-4 record this season with teammate Martha Kwiecinski has a 1-5 record in the No. 2 singles flight coming into the tournament. Havelka and Kwiecinski pair up as the Lady Blue’s top pairing in doubles with a 2-4 record this season, winning their last match of the season against Millikin.

 

Knox looks to improve on their seventh place finish in the 2009 championship standings after moving up one spot last season to seventh place. The Prairie Fire will be led in the No. 1 singles by Dana Pierce who posted a 6-7 record during the regular season, 2-1 in conference play. Emily Tyl supports an impressive 9-5 overall record and will play in the No. 6 singles with an 8-4 record. Megan Funk and Dana Pierce have combined for three wins in the No. 1 doubles. Jordan Kuban and Molly Stein will play out of the No. 2 doubles while Aimee Neilan and Emily Tyl pair up in the No. 3 doubles. Both pairs have recorded three wins in their respective flights.

 

The Foresters enter the team championship on Friday looking for their first title since 2003 when Lake Forest downed Grinnell. Finishing the season 3-1 in conference play, with their only league loss coming to Grinnell, the Foresters went 11-3 overall and scored eight shutout victories. 2009 No.1 singles champion Melika Celebic returns for Lake Forest to defend her title after a season which saw her go 10-1 out of the No. 1 flight, including a perfect 3-0 in conference play. Lauren Stroner, last season’s No. 5 singles champion, will also be back for the Foresters after recording a 9-2 record over four different flights. Deepika Ramachandran (No. 4) and Nonie Carson (No. 2) bolster a strong Lake Forest lineup with a combined singles record of 16-5. Carson and Celebic team up for the Foresters’ strongest doubles pair, going 11-2 in the No.1 flight, while Nicole Stroner and Natalie Atroshenko are 7-4 in the No. 3 doubles flight.

 

The Vikings return an experienced team to the championships this year and are back in the running for a team title after failing to qualify last season. Lawrence finished the season 9-4 overall and 4-0 in the MWC North and are led by 2008 No. 1 singles champion Beth Larson. Larson was stellar again this season as she rolled to an 11-2 record in the No. 1 singles flight and also a spotless 4-0 in conference play. Gayatri Malhotra solidifies the Vikings lineup with a 9-4 record in the No. 3 flight and Jennifer Roesch sports an 8-5 record in the No. 2 flight. Larson and Roesch join together in the No. 1 doubles flight and are among the best in the conference. Their 11 doubles wins is good for second in the MWC. Malhotra and Carla Schmidt is the main tandem at No. 2 doubles and enter the tournament with a 4-3 record.

 

Despite missing out on the team tournament on Friday the Fighting Scots look to make noise in the singles and doubles competition. Ashley Reynoso holds a team-high six wins in singles competition, playing out of the No. 2 flight, going 6-4 overall, 2-2 in conference play. Joi Henry plays in the No. 3 singles flight and has a season record of 3-6, 1-2 in the MWC. The Fighting Scots have had the most success from their doubles teams this season. Henry and Kimi Wegner have a 3-4 record in the No. 1 flight while Reynoso and Kristen Huffman also have three wins in the No. 2 flight.

 

The Red Hawks enter the 2010 tournament looking to improve on last year’s eighth place finish. Ripon finished the regular season with a 4-7 overall record and a 0-4 mark in the Midwest Conference, earning one of their four victories against MWC South Division foe Monmouth College. In singles play, Ripon is led by Brooke Deans who has a 6-4 record at the No. 5 flight. Elizabeth Ake has also played well this season, recording a 5-6 record at the No. 4 position. In doubles play Alison Thies and Olivia Wetzel team up for a 5-5 record in the No. 3 doubles slot while Katie Majerowski and Josie Ullsperger have the only win in the No. 1 flight.

 

St. Norbert returns to the 2010 team championship after a 2009 campaign that saw them slay the five-time defending champion Grinnell in last years tournament. St. Norbert finished the regular season 7-5, with a 3-1 record in MWC North Division play. The Green Knights are led by Kelly Van Handel in the No. 1 singles flight and her 7-5 record during the regular season. Van Handel also picked up six victories in No. 1 doubles with teammate Callie Schroeder. Schroeder also has been an integral part in the Green Knights success, going 8-3 out of the No. 3 flight while teammate Laura Michel is 5-5 in the No. 6 flight. Michel and Maria Slusarek have combined to go 9-2 overall and 4-0 in conference play this season in the No. 2 doubles flight.