ST. PETER, Minn. – Minnesota State tennis improved to 8-1 in the NSIC and 11-3 overall celebrating senior day Saturday at Swanson Tennis Center in a 6-1 victory over Winona State.
 
"It was a rock solid performance out of our whole roster," said head coach Matt Hokanson. "Winona State is a solid team, so for us to play as well as we did, it was a great way to end the regular season. I feel we are in a strong position right now heading into the conference tournament."
 
No. 35 ranked Avery Stilwell and Freia Lawrence polished off a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles over Lainey Ristau and Halle Rosentreter. Then Hana Minisy and Taina Cordeiro secured the team doubles point with a win at No. 3 over Clara Thoemke and Ally Burger 6-4 in a tight set.
 
"Hana hit an insane flat forehand return winner up the line at 5-4 deuce," Hokanson said. "It energized our whole team and set the tone for the success we had later in singles. Our energy was positive the whole time and we played proactive vs. reactive tennis."
 
Lawrence cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles over Ristau and McKenna DeMarce defeated Clara Thoemke 6-4, 7-5 at No. 3. Sutton Julsrud collected her first singles victory at No. 6 in straight sets over Nikita Agrawal 6-3, 6-2. Elizabeth Felderman dropped just two games at No. 5 singles and Hana Minisy surrendered five games over two sets at No. 5.
 
"Really impressive run by our senior group. They changed the direction of the program and left it in a better place than they found it."
 
The Mavericks downed Winona State in their third straight meeting. MSU is in second place in the conference standings heading into the NSIC Tournament quarterfinals on April 25 at Heuther Tennis Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
 
SCORES
Doubles

1. MSU (#35 Freia Lawrence/Avery Stilwell) def. WSU (Lainey Ristau/Halle Rosentreter) 6-2
2. WSU (Skylar Gary/Alexandra Madjun) def. MSU (McKenna DeMarce/Elizabeth Felderman) 6-4
3. MSU (Taina Cordeiro/Hana Minisy) def. WSU (Clara Thoemke/Ally Burger) 6-4

Singles

1. MSU (Freia Lawrence) def. WSU (Lainey Ristau) 6-3, 6-4
2. WSU (Skylar Gary) def. MSU (Avery Stilwell) 1-6, 7-6, 1-0(6)
3. MSU (McKenna DeMarce) def. WSU (Clara Thoemke) 6-4, 7-5
4. MSU (Hana Minisy) def. WSU (Miranda Daulong) 6-1, 6-4
5. MSU (Elizabeth Felderman) def. WSU (Elysia Beynon) 6-2, 6-0
6. MSU (Sutton Julsrud) def. WSU (Nikita Agrawal) 6-3, 6-2