MEQUON, Wis. – Perfection looks good in blue and white!
The Concordia Wisconsin women's tennis team put the finishing touches on a flawless Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference campaign on Saturday afternoon, sweeping Edgewood, 7-0, to capture the outright NACC regular-season championship.
The Falcons finished the fall season with a perfect 8-0 overall record and a spotless 7-0 mark in NACC play. After entering Saturday with at least a share of the conference crown already secured, Concordia left nothing to chance, winning all nine matches to claim the title outright.
The championship marks the 10th NACC regular-season title in program history and the 11th conference championship overall for the Falcons. Saturday's victory also marked the 10th time in program history that Concordia completed an undefeated conference campaign.
Under the leadership of head coach Ricki Budewitz, the Falcons completed their championship charge in convincing fashion, sweeping all three doubles matches before securing victories on all six singles courts.
The dynamic duo of freshmen Jordin Popp (Manitowoc, Wis.) and Taylor Peterson (Manitowoc, Wis.) set the tone at No. 1 doubles, cruising past Hattie Plenty and Kaitlyn Narkis, 6-1.
At No. 3 doubles, sophomore Abigail Haley (Frohna, Mo.) and sophomore Taylor Weiner (Bakersfield, Calif.) delivered a dominant 6-0 victory over Sarah Emory and Maya Connaughty.
Freshman Samantha Behling (Brookfield, Wis.) and senior Payton Steward (Appleton, Wis.) completed the doubles domination with a 6-2 triumph over Gabby Schmidtmann and Sophia Perret on court two.
The Falcons continued their championship charge in singles action, refusing to surrender a point to the Eagles.
Junior Katelyn de Guzman (Belvidere, Ill.) opened singles play with a commanding 6-2, 6-1 victory over Emory at No. 6 singles.
Steward followed with a convincing 6-3, 6-1 victory over Connaughty at No. 5 singles, putting the Falcons on the doorstep of the outright championship.
Haley delivered another dominant performance at No. 4 singles, defeating Schmidtmann, 6-2, 6-2, to secure the decisive fourth team point and officially crown Concordia the outright NACC champion.
The Falcons were far from finished.
At No. 1 singles, Popp battled past Plenty, 7-5, 6-3, to continue her fantastic freshman campaign.
Behling, the reigning NACC Student-Athlete of the Week, matched that determination on court two, defeating Narkis, 7-5, 6-3.
Peterson provided the finishing touch at No. 3 singles in the afternoon's most competitive contest. After claiming the opening set, 7-5, Peterson dropped the second, 4-6, before prevailing in a thrilling 10-8 match tiebreaker to complete the 7-0 sweep.
The victory capped a remarkable fall for the Falcons, who entered the season picked fourth in the NACC preseason poll before proving themselves the class of the conference.
The Falcons' fall perfection also secured a postseason prize. With the outright regular-season championship, Concordia has earned the right to host a NACC Tournament match on May 5. The four-team tournament will determine the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship.
With an undefeated record, an outright championship and another piece of hardware secured, the Falcons have added another chapter to the program's championship tradition.
