St. Norbert Finishes Second at Midwest Conference Team Championship

From Sports Information Director, October 14, 2011 | Women's Tennis
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

ROCKFORD, Ill. - St. Norbert College finished the 2011 season as the runner-up in the Midwest Conference race following a second-place finish at the league's Team Championship Tournament at the Boylan Tennis Center.

The Green Knights fell to Grinnell College by a 5-1 score in the championship match, as the Pioneers won their seventh league title in the last eight years. St. Norbert dispatched Lake Forest College 5-0 in its semifinal match.

St. Norbert picked up a doubles point against the Pioneers. Kelly Van Handel and Nancy Chybowski beat Laura Krull and Sadhana Athreya 9-8 (8-6) at the No. 1 flight. The Green Knights dropped all three of their singles matches that were finished. Van Handel led Athreya 6-2, 5-3 at No. 1 singles but the match was stopped once the team result was decided.

Against Lake Forest, the Green Knights won all three doubles points to take command. Van Handel and Chybowski beat Aimee Fadden and Nonie Carson 8-3 at No. 1. Maria Slusarek and Laura Michel beat Lucy Cooper and Nikki Yeomans 8-2 at the No. 2 flight. Callie Schroeder and Maggie Berens topped Gracie Mullins and Kaitlyn Martin 9-8 (7-4) at No. 3.

Chybowski beat Mullins 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 singles, and Slusarek blanked Martin 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 to finish the team win.

St. Norbert will compete in the Midwest Conference Doubles and Singles Championship Saturday and Sunday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison.