MINNEAPOLIS – Lynyrd Skynyrd's song "Sweet Home Alabama" suddenly became the favorite tune of the University of Northwestern women's tennis team on Thursday afternoon as the Eagles defeated Bethel College (Indiana) 5-0 in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) North Central Region championship game. The victory earned UNW a berth into the NCCAA National Tournament, which starts on May 7 in Mobile, Ala.

Match Results

Four of the five matches that finished at the Baseline Tennis Center were rather lopsided in Northwestern's favor, but the Pilots, who made the eight-hour drive to Minneapolis on Wednesday, made the Eagles earn a point in the No. 1 doubles match. Trailing 6-1 and 7-2, UNW's Megan Johnson (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) and Kelly Johnson (Annandale, Minn./Annandale) rallied back to tie their Bethel counterparts, Molly O'Grady and Bethany Blodgett, at seven points apiece before continuing their momentous comeback in the last two games en route to a 9-7 win.

Meanwhile, the Eagles' Nos. 2 and 3 doubles pairs were well on their way to victory. Karen Moe (Fargo, N.D./Fargo South ) and Tina Matetich (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) swept the Pilots' Melissa Ramer and Taryn Johnson 8-0, while UNW's Rachel Bostrom (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) and Amber Gallaway (Annandale, Minn./Annandale) defeated Samatha Lukas and Jana Yoder by the same score to give Northwestern a 3-0 head start in the overall match score.

With the first team to five points winning the region's ticket to Alabama, the black-uniformed Eagles needed just two more points to seal the deal. Megan Johnson (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) led her No. 1 singles match 6-1, 1-0 when O'Grady was forced to retire due to an injury. Just minutes later, Moe's 6-1, 6-1 No. 2 singles defeat of Blodgett was official, allowing the remaining singles matches to conclude and the Eagles to celebrate.

2014 will be the Northwestern women's program's first-ever trip to the NCCAA National Tournament.

Moe's singles win was the freshman's 15th of the year, tying her with four others, including Megan Johnson (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing), for Northwestern's all-time record for singles win in a season. With the Eagles guaranteed of at least eight more matches, Moe will have plenty of opportunities to own that record by herself. Johnson is currently at 14 wins in 2014.

Now 14-5 overall, UNW will take the Easter weekend off before playing four matches next week as the Eagles close out the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season. Northwestern's first bout comes on Tuesday, April 22, when UNW hosts Martin Luther College at Lifetime Fitness in Fridley at 3 p.m.