ST. PAUL, Minn.- The University of Northwestern Women's Tennis team is coming off of a strong campaign in 2021. The Eagles were a force to be reckoned with all season long, finishing with a 15-6 overall record, and going 6-0 within the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. The Eagles were crowned UMAC Champions for their undefeated season in conference play, and later won the UMAC Postseason Tournament with a 5-2 victory over St. Scholastica in the conference championship match. UNW advanced to the NCAA National Tournament for the fourth time in program history.
The UMAC released their preseason coaches' poll on Tuesday, and the Eagles are once again expected to have success in 2022. The Eagles finished atop the poll and have been predicted to win a second straight conference championship.
The Eagles received 16 points in the poll, and right behind them came Wisconsin-Superior who finished with 12 points in the poll. The Yellowjackets return six players from last year's squad that made the conference tournament semifinals before falling to the eventual tournament champions, Northwestern.
Minnesota-Morris was predicted to be in the mix as well, finishing in third place in the poll with 11 points. Next came Bethany Lutheran with 6 points, and Martin Luther rounded out the preseason coaches' poll with 5 points.
The Eagles have a lot of strong players returning from last year's championship squad. Leading the way for Northwestern will be senior,
Belinda Weddle (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander). Weddle was a major key to the Eagles' success last season, and will be a big factor to the Eagles attempting to repeat as champions in 2022. Weddle finished 2021 with a 13-6 singles record and a 12-7 doubles record. The senior was named UMAC Player of the Week twice last season and finished the year with All-Conference honors.
Taylar Smith (Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield) is also returning to the Eagles after a strong performance in 2021. The junior put up big numbers last season and had great individual records to show for it. Smith finished the season with a remarkable 18-2 record in singles, and a 17-3 record in doubles. Smith's fantastic records helped her earn an All-Conference nod in 2021. Smith was also recognized for her off the court qualities, having been named a UMAC Sportsmanship Award winner. Smith's leadership off the court and abilities on the court make her a major asset returning to the Eagles in 2022.
Elli Dodge (Wahpeton, N.D./Wahpeton), a sophomore, is also back in 2022 for the Eagles and is looking to build off of an impressive 2021 season. As a freshman last season, Dodge exploded onto the UMAC tennis scene. Dodge had an 11-8 singles record, and a 13-8 doubles record. Dodge landed on the All-Conference team as a freshman, and is looking to keep developing in her second season of collegiate tennis.
The returning Eagles, along with the promising newcomers to the squad, start their season on Friday, January 28
th against St. Mary's. Follow along with UNW Women's Tennis all season long at unweagles.com.
