MILWAUKEE - Capping off a much-improved season for the program, the Lakeland College women's tennis team dominated a matchup with Milwaukee School of Engineering, winning 8-1 on Tuesday.
The Muskies finish the team portion of the season with a 6-7 record, the best record for Lakeland women's tennis since 2003, when the team finished 5-3 overall. The Muskies also improved to 4-7 in the NAC and will finish no worse than eighth in the conference standings, an improvement from last year's finish of 10th.
Lakeland won five of six matches at singles and also swept all three matches at doubles. April Schmitz (Sr.-Sheboygan, Wis.) paced the Muskies with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Marli Trier at No. 1 singles and also paired with Lynn Pipke (Fr.-Greenfield, Wis.) for an 8-5 win over Trier and Michelle Roubik at No. 1 doubles.
Erica Hoffmann (Jr.-Sheboygan Falls, Wis.) defeated Heather Miller of MSOE 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 singles, and also teamed with Brittany Jurek (Jr.-Kingsford, Mich.) to roll past Miller and Ashley Albrecht for an 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles. Jurek also did not lose a game in a 6-0, 6-0 win over Emily Dvorsky at No. 5 singles.
Jenna Oberthaler (Jr.-Iron Mountain, Mich.) also was a double winner for the Muskies, including a 6-3, 6-4 win over Albrecht at No. 4 singles. Oberthaler and Alissa Stephani (So.-Appleton, Wis.) also dominated their match at No. 3 doubles with an 8-1 win over Dvorsky and Melanie Avery.
Lakeland's final win came at No. 6 singles, where Samantha Tonn (Fr.-Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) picked up her first win of the season at singles with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Avery. The Muskies just missed a clean sweep with their lone loss at No. 2 singles, where Pipke owned the first set before Roubik fought back for a 1-6, 6-3, 10-8 win.
In all the Muskies posted 22 more individual wins in matches than last season. Lakeland Head Coach Casey Carr is very excited about the progress made by the team in his second year as coach and is already looking forward to next season.
"I think it's pretty impressive that we won an extra 22 matches over last year while losing a First Team All-NAC player in Nicole Shavlik," Carr said. "If the season were to start this weekend I will put my team in the top four in our conference any day. As the head coach I personally have learned a lot this season and am already excited for next season.There's a new buzz and attitude towards this program right now."
Lakeland wraps up the season on Saturday, Oct. 6, with individual play at the Edgewood College Invitational.
Athletics - Women's Tennis