MATCH NOTES (PDF)

MARSHALL, Minn. - The Southwest Minnesota State tennis team (0-0, 0-0 NSIC) opens its 2010 season against Minnesota State, Mankato this Sunday at St. Peter, Minn., at 9:30 a.m.

Series record:  Sunday will be the 29th meeting SMSU and Minnesota State in a series that dates back to the 1977 season.  The Mustangs are 10-18 against the Mavericks all-time, while head coach George Seldat is 2-13 against MSU.  The Mustangs and Mavericks last met in April 2009 in the NSIC Championship. The No. 3-seeded Mavericks defeated the No. 7 seeded-Mustangs 5-2. The doubles teams of Ananda Ferrari and Toni Pribyl and Danielle Hildebrandt and Angie Wiegmann both recorded wins for SMSU.

Earlier competition:  While SMSU will start the 2010 season on Sunday, the Mustangs do have one competition under their belts during the 2009-10 academic year.  In September, SMSU traveled to Kearney, Neb., to play in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region Tournament.  Amy Daniels (Marshall, Minn.) and Cailey Grupe (Trimont, Minn.) faired  the best for the Mustangs, going 3-2 and 2-1, respectively.

Last time out:  SMSU finished the 2009 season with a 8-14 record and 5-6 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.  The Mustangs finished seventh in the NSIC, bringing that seed to the NSIC Team Championship and returning with a fourth-place finish.  SMSU captured four top-three finishes the following weekend at the NSIC Individual Championship.

SMSU ranked in Central Region: SMSU is ranked eighth in the ITA Central Rankings as of the end of November. Other teams from the NSIC placing in the Central region include Upper Iowa (No.3), Minnesota State (No.5), and Winona State (No.6).
    1.     Mesa State
    2.     Metro State
    3.     Upper Iowa
    4.     Nebraska-Kearney
    5.     Minnesota State
    6.     Winona State
    7.     CSU-Pueblo
    8.     SMSU

Grupe ranked in Central Region:  Junior Cailey Grupe (Trimont, Minn.) is ranked No. 15 in the ITA Central Rankings in singles.  Grupe finished last season with a 15-11 record in singles play.  She has charted a 2-1 record in singles tour play this season.

Senior momentum:  The 2010 roster features just one senior in Danielle Hildebrandt (St. James, Minn.).  Hildebrandt has been a mainstay in the SMSU lineup throughout her career, making waves in both singles and doubles play.  Last season, she finished 10-14 in singles play.  Hildebrandt is expected to work from the No. 1 singles spot this season.

The coach:  The longest tenured coach currently on staff at SMSU, George Seldat enters his 16th season as head tennis coach of the Mustangs in 2010. Seldat has compiled a 76-145 overall record at SMSU.  Last season, he coached the Mustangs an overall record of 8-14 and 5-6 mark in the NSIC.

Stay connected:  Stay connected with SMSU tennis all season long at www.smsumustangs.com.  The Mustangs are also on Facebook and Twitter; just log onto www.facebook.com/smsumustangs and www.twitter.com/smsumustangs.  For the latest video highlights and new episodes of the Mustang Minute check out SMSU's official YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/smsuathletics.