Lyndsey Palen - MIAC and ITA Central Region Arthur Ashe Award Winner
Tara Houlihan - ITA Central Region Player of the Year
A total of eight Gustavus Adolphus women’s tennis players received All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference recognition Monday. Honored were seniors Tara Houlihan (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Lyndsey Palen (Rochester, Minn.) and Marla Menne (White Bear Lake, Minn.), juniors Lauren Hom (Stevens Point, Wis.), Jaime Gaard (Edina, Minn.), Hannah Frericks (Sartell, Minn.) and Darcy Haubrick (Elk River, Minn.) and sophomore Jenni White (Cedar Rapids, Iowa).
Houlihan and Palen were each honored for the fourth time in their careers, while Menne, Hom and Gaard have been honored for the third time. White is a repeat honoree at No. 3 doubles, while Frericks and Haubrick are first-time All-MIAC selections.
Houlihan (No. 1 singles/No. 1 doubles) is a repeat honoree at both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles, compiling a 17-5 singles record while splitting time between No. 1 singles and No. 2 singles. Houlihan, rated seventh in the most recent Fila/ITA Central Region rankings, was recently named the ITA Senior Player of the Year for NCAA Division III’s Central Region and has been selected to compete in the 32-person singles draw at the NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Championships for the third year in a row.
Palen (No. 2 singles/No. 1 doubles) is a repeat honoree at No. 1 doubles, but was honored at No. 4 singles a year ago. Palen compiled a singles record of 16-2 during the season, including 7-0 in MIAC duals and was honored by the MIAC as the 2006 recipient of the Chris Evert Award for leadership. Palen has also recently named recipient of the ITA/Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship for NCAA Division III’s Central Region. The Ashe Award goes to a player who has exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.
Menne (No. 5 singles/No. 2 doubles), who was honored at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles last season, amassed a 15-6 singles record this season, winning five matches in MIAC play.
Hom (No. 3 singles/No. 2 doubles) is a repeat honoree at No. 2 doubles, while also being honored at No. 2 singles last year. Hom, rated sixth in the most recent Fila/ITA Central Region singles rankings, won the ITA Midwest Regional singles title last fall and is 17-8 on the season, 5-0 in MIAC singles play.
Gaard (No. 4 singles) was honored last season at No. 5 singles and has compiled an 18-7 singles record this season (6-0 in MIAC play), rising to No. 13 in the most recent Fila/ITA Central Region singles rankings.
Frericks (No. 6 singles) is 16-3 overall in singles play, including 8-0 in MIAC duals.
Houlihan and Palen, the defending NCAA Division III doubles champions and the Central Region’s second-rated doubles team, are 21-1 this season, including 7-0 in MIAC duals and will defend their national title as one of 16 doubles teams selected for the doubles draw at the NCAA Championships. Hom and Menne, the region’s fifth-rated team and winners of last fall’s ITA Midwest Regional, are 20-1 this season and are one of three alternates for the doubles draw at the NCAA Championships. Haubrick and White (No. 3 doubles) posted an 8-1 doubles record this season with a 2-0 record in MIAC play.
Gustavus (29-4), which recently won its 15th consecutive MIAC title and 21st overall, has advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Team Championships this week in Santa Cruz, California. The seventh-rated Gusties will face fifth-rated Emory Wednesday, May 17.