April 17, 2008

BEMIDJI, Minn. - The Bemidji State University tennis team will travel to Minneapolis, Minn. to participate in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships at the Baseline Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota Saturday April 19 and Sunday April 20.

Seeding for the tournament is based on each positions record in conference play. The point system for the tournament will be four points for first place at a position, two points for second, one for third, and zero for fourth place and beyond. The team that accumulates the most points will be crowned NSIC champions and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament played May 8-9 or May 9-10.

Beavers head coach Scott Sorenson feels confident about how the team will play in the tournament, “Our team has made strides from last season and has continued to improve as the season has gone on. We are hitting our stride coming into the tournament.” Bemidji State will look for strong performances from Kali Welu (Jr., Pequot Lakes, Minn.) at No. 1 singles as well as Farrah Steinke (Fr., Crosby, Minn.) at No. 3 singles and doubles where she will team with Cheyanne Maki (So., Watford City, N.D.).

The Beaver’s finished the regular season with one of the most impressive records in team history at 7-14 (3-4; NSIC) and have not won the conference tournament since the 1999 season.

The tournament is scheduled to begin with introductions at 7:30 a.m. followed by singles play on Saturday. The tournament will conclude with the doubles portion on Sunday. The winner of each position will be named all-conference while the runner up will garner honorable mention.

Bemidji State University, located in Bemidji, Minn., is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

--bsu--