University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Wrap Up Regular Season Against Nebraska, Iowa
4/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
April 19, 2012
After splitting two matches for the second time in as many weeks, the 33rd-ranked Minnesota women's tennis team will play its final weekend of regular-season play on the spring season. On Friday, the Gophers will travel to No. 18 Nebraska for a 2 p.m. match and on Sunday, they will take on Iowa at noon at the Baseline Tennis Center.
Sunday's match will be Senior Day, where the team's lone senior, Magdalena Wiecha, will be honored.
Last week, Minnesota played two home matches. In the first match, the Gophers defeated No. 47 Indiana for the first time in exactly nine years with a 7-0 sweep and in the second match, the team dropped a closely-contested competition against No. 29 Purdue, 4-3.
Entering the final weekend of regular-season play in a tie for sixth in the Big Ten with a 4-5 conference record, Minnesota has been led by junior Doron Muravnik in singles. Muravnik is 14-5, while fellow junior Alexa Palen and sophomore Natallia Pintusava both stand at 13-5. Pintusava is 9-2 at the No. 1 position, while No. 115 Palen is 4-3 at the top spot.
Freshmen Julia Courter and Tereza Brichacova have also impressed, going 10-7 and 10-6, respectively.
The team is led in doubles by the No. 46-ranked tandem of Wiecha and Pintusava, which has an 11-3 record. Palen and Muravnik are 6-2 together and mounted a five-point comeback against Indiana at No. 2 last Friday to give the Gophers a much-needed boost of momentum.
Big Ten conference newcomer Nebraska will enter Friday's match in a tie for third place in the conference with Illinois at 7-2. The Cornhuskers, who have a league-high 21 overall wins, are led in singles by No. 45-ranked Mary Weatherholt, No. 100-ranked Janine Weinreich, and Patrcia Veresova. In doubles, 53rd-ranked Madeleine Geibert and Stefanie Weinstein make up the team's best combination.
The Cornhuskers have won six of their last seven matches.
At 8-12 overall, Iowa comes into this weekend in a tie for ninth place in the conference with Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes, who will host the Badgers on Friday afternoon, are led primarily by senior and reigning Big Ten Player of the Week Sonja Molnar. The No. 65-ranked Molnar is 14-5 in singles and had played all her matches at the top position.
Molnar is also Iowa's top doubles player, playing in most of the team's matches at No. 1, either freshman Morven McCulloch or fellow first-year player Shelby Talcott. She is 4-5 with McCulloch and 3-6 with Talcott.
Following this weekend, the Gophers will compete in the Big Ten Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Postseason play will begin next Thursday.
