JACKSON, Wis. – The Lakeland University women's tennis team saw its season end in the first round of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament with a 5-0 loss to Wisconsin Lutheran College Monday at the Pleasant Valley Tennis and Fitness Club.

The sixth-seeded Muskies lost several close matches early and fell too far behind to get a chance to take advantage of opportunities in singles matches. Lakeland finished its season with a 7-6 record, while the No. 3 seed Wisconsin Lutheran advanced to a semifinal dual against No. 2 seed Edgewood College Thursday.

The Muskies fell to Lutheran in the conference tourney for the second straight year. The Warriors swept all three doubles matches to get an early lead in the dual, including a tiebreaker win at Number 3 doubles. WLC's Haley Olson and Maddy Olson edged Sadie Conway (Sr.-Monroe, Wis.) and Sydnee Conway (Fr.-Monroe, Wis.) 8-7, taking the tiebreaker by an 8-1 score.

Baylee Babcock (Sr.-Mauston, Wis.) and Mary Blossom (So.-Farmington Hills, Mich.) also fell by an 8-4 score at No. 2 doubles to Izzy Hawley and Sky Pope. Lutheran's Katelynn Haskell and Ali Schmidt also defeated Olivia Heling (So.-West Bend, Wis.) and Kassidee Webb (So.-Castroville, Texas) 8-1, and with the three wins WLC already was three-fifths of the way to winning the match.

Haskell also posted a 6-3, 6-3 win over Heling at No. 1 singles, and the dual ended when Haley Olson edged Sadie Conway 7-5, 6-3 at No. 5 singles. Under tourney rules the remaining four matches were then not finished, prohibiting Muskies players from the possibility of wins in two matches where they already had won a set and two more where the Warriors won close first sets but the second set scores were separated by just one game.

"It hurts the most when the stakes are highest, and it certainly hurts that this season ended like this," said Lakeland head coach Pete Barth. "But no journey is defined by the finish line, and what I'll remember about this great season is some of the fantastic wins these players earned, and their tireless commitment to practicing at 5 a.m. and on Sunday nights.

"More importantly to me, they are amazing students and citizens. Huge thank you (too) to Julie Mavity-Maddalena for helping coach the team and adding her high level of expertise and encouragement to the program."


Wisconsin Lutheran 5, Lakeland 0
04/29/24 at Jackson, Wis. (Pleasant Valley Tennis and Fitness Club)

Singles competition

1. Haskell, Katelynn (WLCWT) def. Heling, Olivia (LUWT) 6-3, 6-3

2. Schmidt, Ali (WLCWT) vs. Blossom, Mary (LUWT) 6-4, 2-3, unfinished

3. Hawley, Izzy (WLCWT) vs. Webb, Kassidee (LUWT) 6-0, 3-6, unfinished

4. Pope, Sky (WLCWT) vs. Babcock, Baylee (LUWT) 7-5, 4-3, unfinished

5. Olson, Haley (WLCWT) def. Conway, Sadie (LUWT) 7-5, 6-3

6. Olson, Maddy (WLCWT) vs. Conway, Sydnee (LUWT) 4-6, 5-4, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. Haskell, Katelynn/Schmidt, Ali (WLCWT) def. Heling, Olivia/Webb, Kassidee (LUWT) 8-1

2. Hawley, Izzy/Pope, Sky (WLCWT) def. Blossom, Mary/Babcock, Baylee (LUWT) 8-4

3. Olson, Haley/Olson, Maddy (WLCWT) def. Conway, Sadie/Conway, Sydnee (LUWT) 8-7 (8-1)

Match Notes

Lakeland 7-6

Wisconsin Lutheran 9-8

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,5)