MARSHALL, Minn. - The Southwest Minnesota State University women's tennis team (8-7) will compete this Friday and Saturday at the eight-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament inside Huether Family Match Pointe in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
SMSU, which tied for third place in the NSIC regular season standings with an 8-3 record, will be the No. 5 seed in the tournament and will open with No. 4 UMary (8-3) on Friday starting at 4:30 p.m. If SMSU wins, they will advance to the semifinals on Saturday with an 8 a.m. match versus either No. 1 seed Augustana or No. 8 seed Bemidji State. The championship match is slated for 12 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Augustana has won the last nine NSIC Tournament championships and have won 25 consecutive NSIC Tournament matches.
 
HEAD COACH
•Jon Parker is in his second season as head coach with an overall record of 9-14.
•The 10th head coach in team history, Parker was named to the position on Jan. 9, 2020.
•Parker served two seasons (2017-18) as head coach at Northeastern State (Okla.), leading the Riverhawks to a 39-11 overall recording, including 18-0 in conference play, and a pair of NCAA Tournaments. He was named the 2018 MIAA Coach of the Year.
•Parker was also a successful girls' and boys' high school coach in Oklahoma and Texas.
 
NSIC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
•SMSU qualified for the 2019 NSIC Tournament (the 2020 tournament was canceled) as the No. 8 seed and lost 4-0 to No. 1 seed Augustana. It was the first time SMSU qualified for the tournament since the 2010 season.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. UMARY
•SMSU and UMary meet for the 16^h time with UMary holding a 11-4 advantage in a series that started in 1995.
•UMary has won the last 10 meetings, including 4-3 earlier this season in Owatonna, Minn.
•SMSU's last victory in the series came during the 2011 season.  
 
SMSU COURT NOTES                           
•SMSU split a pair of NSIC matches to close the regular season last week in Sioux Falls, losing to Augustana, 7-0, before earning a 5-2 win over Sioux Falls.
•Maegan Flight lost in three sets to Augustana at No. 1 singles, but rebounded to win versus USF. Flight finished the NSIC season with a record of 9-1 in NSIC matches.
•Maja Louisa Harck finished 9-1 in singles play during the NSIC season. She played a majority at No. 5 singles, but also had victories at No. 3 and No. 4.
•Courtenay Leonard, Cora Delich, and Gwendolen Sior all finished NSIC action with six victories in singles play.
•Harck and Leonard both have a team-high seven victories in doubles play with the duo combining to win five in conference matches.
 
FLIGHT AND HARCK NAMED NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
•SMSU had two players earn NSIC Player of the Week during the regular season.
•Senior Maegan Flight earned the award on April 19, while freshman Maja Louisa Harck was named on Feb. 16.
•Harck was the first Mustang player to earn the weekly award since Ashley Hoehne in 2016.
 
SMSU EARNS WINNING LEAGUE RECORD
•SMSU finished the 2021 NSIC season with an 8-3 record and tied for third place in the NSIC standings. It was the program's highest finish in the conference and its first winning season in league play since the 2008 team placed second with a 5-2 record.
•The last time SMSU won more than four matches in conference play occurred during the 2010 season, while the last time the program recorded five or more league wins came in 2009.
 
PRESEASON NSIC POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish 10th in the preseason NSIC Coaches' poll. The top eight teams in the final regular season standings qualify for the NSIC Tournament in April 23-24 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
MUSTANG HISTORY
•The 2021 season marks the 44th year of intercollegiate tennis at SMSU. The program won nine straight conference championships from 1984-92 and also placed at the NAIA Championships each season from 1984-93.
•SMSU's highest finish at the NAIA Championships was 11th in 1990. SMSU also finished 12th in 1989, 13th in 1988, 14th in 1992, 16th in 1991, 17th in both 1984 and 1985 and 19th in 1987.