MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State tennis was ranked seventh in Wednesday's NCAA Central Region Rankings as the team prepares for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference semifinals on Saturday, April 26 at 4:30 p.m. at Huether Match Pointe.
 
The No. 2 seed Mavericks (11-3, 8-1 NSIC) earned a bye in the quarterfinals and will face the winner of No. 6 seed Minnesota Crookston (7-8, 4-5 NSIC) and No. 3 seed Sioux Falls (11-2, 7-2 NSIC).
 
On the other side of the bracket, top-seed Augustana earned a bye and awaits the winner of No. 4 seed UMary and No. 5 seed MSU Moorhead. No. 33 ranked Augustana's win streak against conference opponents stands at 169 straight matches (last loss to Minnesota State, April 19, 2009).
 
This season, the Mavericks have excelled in doubles. Freia Lawrence and Avery Stillwell were ranked No. 43 in Division II this week. The duo is 11-3 overall this spring, 11-0 against Division II opponents and 2-0 against nationally ranked opponents.
 
Minnesota State was idle last week after closing out the regular season with a 6-1 home victory over Winona State on senior day. Other notable wins include a 5-2 final score at Division I Eastern Illinois and a 5-2 victory over UMary in Bismarck. With three shutouts this season, first year head coach Matt Hokanson guides a veteran group.
 
Lawrence was named the NSIC Preseason Player of the Year and is 10-4 at No. 1 singles. Stilwell is 8-6 at No. 2 singles and McKenna DeMarce is 12-2 at No. 3. DeMarce teamed with Elizabeth Felderman at No. 2 singles and the pair are 9-5.
 
Hana Minisy has played a majority of matches at No. 4 and holds a 9-1 record. Felderman occupies No. 5 singles and holds a 7-2 mark. Hokanson has several options for the No. 6 position, including Taina Cordeiro, Georgia Deml and Sutton Julsrud.
 
Minnesota State tennis has finished as conference tournament runner-up each of the past two seasons. This year, the team hopes to finally usurp the Vikings. A trip to the NSIC Championship also gives the Mavericks the potential to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time (and only time) since 2009, under head coach Phil Brauer.
 
The NSIC Championship takes place on Sunday, April 27 at 10 a.m. in Sioux Falls (surface: indoor hard court). Live action for the semifinals and finals can be streamed for free HERE.

NCAA Central Region Rankings (Apr. 23)

Rank/School	DII Record	In-Region Record
1. Washburn	14-2	8-1
2. Augustana	15-3	15-3
3. Nebraska-Kearney	16-4	16-3
4. Southern Arkansas	13-4	11-2
5. Northwest Missouri State	12-7	11-6
6. Southeastern Oklahoma State	10-4	9-4
7. Minnesota State	9-1	8-1
8. Central Oklahoma	8-5	8-5

The NCAA Central Region is comprised of the 25 teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (10), Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) (9), and the Great American Conference (GAC) (6). The post season tournament winner from each conference receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament on May 12-13 and will be joined by the next three highest ranked teams in the final selections.