MARSHALL, Minn. - The Southwest Minnesota State University women's tennis team (16-10) will compete at the eight-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament starting this Friday morning in the quarterfinals 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. 3 seed in the tournament and will open with No. 6 Upper Iowa (9-7) on Friday starting at 11:30 a.m. If SMSU wins, they will advance to the semifinals on Saturday with a 2 p.m. match versus either No. 2 seed Winona State or No. 7 seed Sioux Falls. The championship match is slated for 10 a.m. on Sunday. All matches in the tournament will be pulled once a team has reached four points.
 
The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Augustana has won the last 10 NSIC Tournament championships.
 
        SINGLE-SEASON VICTORIES
•This year's team has set the program NCAA Division II record for most victories in a single-season since moving to Division II in 1996. The previous record of 13 was set by the 2019 team. The last time SMSU won 16 matches in a season came in 1988. The overall school record for wins in a season is 20 set during the 1987 season.
 
        HEAD COACH
•Jon Parker is in his third season as head coach with an overall record of 26-25, including 17-13 in NSIC matches.
•The 10^th 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 has qualified for the NSIC Tournament in three straight seasons (the 2020 tournament was canceled). SMSU was the No. 8 seed in 2019, losing 4-0 to No. 1 Augustana, while last season SMSU, the No. 5 seed, defeated No. 4 UMary, 4-1. It was SMSU's first tournament victory since the 2009 season. SMSU lost to No. 1 Augustana in the semifinals last season, 4-0.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. UPPER IOWA
•SMSU and UIU meet for the 17^th time with UIU leading 12-4.
•UIU earned a 4-3 victory earlier this season on Feb. 26 in St. Peter, Minn. The victory snapped SMSU's three-match winning streak in the series.
 
        SMSU NOTES
•SMSU's winning record this season is the program's third since the 1997 season.
•SMSU closed the regular season on April 9-10 earning victories over Minnesota Duluth (6-1) and St. Cloud State (4-3).
•For the season, Cora Delich has a team-high 15 victories in singles play with 14 in dual matches. She has nine victories at No. 5, two each at No. 2 and No. 4 and one at No. 3. She finished 8-3 in NSIC matches. Delich's 41 career victories ranks tied for 17^th in team history.
•Courtenay Leonard finished the regular season with 14 overall singles victories. In dual matches, she has six wins at No. 1 and six at No. 2.
•Maja Louisa Harck has 13 overall wins with 11 in dual matches, including six at No. 3 and four at No. 4.
•Joana Reis Indio has 10 victories with four at No. 1 singles.
•Kristina Vuksanovic has recorded nine wins in singles with four at No. 3, three at No. 4 and two at No. 2.
•Faith Madikwe is 6-6 overall with all six wins coming at No. 6, while finishing 5-2 in NSIC matches.
•Delich and Roz Oye have combined for a team-high 15 victories in doubles play, including 8-3 in NSIC play.
 
        2022 PRESEASON NSIC POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish fourth 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 2022 season marks the 45th 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 11^th in 1990. SMSU also finished 12^th in 1989, 13^th in 1988, 14^th in 1992, 16^th in 1991, 17^th in both 1984 and 1985 and 19^th in 1987.