St. Paul – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) honored four members of the Gustavus women’s tennis team on Wednesday when it released its 2014 Women’s Tennis All-Conference Teams. Junior Laurel Krebsbach (North Oaks, Minn.), sophomore Sidney Dirks (St. Peter, Minn.), and first-year Michaela Schulz (Elk River, Minn.) all landed spots on both the singles and doubles teams, while rookie Lizzy Stanczyk (Plymouth, Wis.) earned her way on to the doubles team. Saint Benedict took home the top two honors, as senior Jamie Hoffman received the Chris Evert Award and Scott Larson was named the Coach-of-the-Year.
Laurel Krebsbach
Among the four players, Gustavus racked up seven total All-Conference selections between the singles and doubles teams. That mark trailed only conference champion Carleton, who had eight total with four each in singles and doubles. St. Olaf followed the Gusties with three each on the singles and doubles teams for six total, and St. Thomas grabbed five total with three singles and two doubles. Saint Benedict rounded out the teams represented on the All-Conference squads with five picks, snatching four doubles selections to go along with one singles.
For the third consecutive season, steady junior Laurel Krebsbach made an appearance on both the singles and doubles All-Conference Teams. Predominantly playing No. 2 singles, Krebsbach finished the season 16-4 overall and 9-1 in the MIAC. She played just one match at first singles in a winning effort, leaving the remaining 19 matches at No. 2 with a record of 15-4. Laurel’s .800 winning percentage tied for 10th in the MIAC among players who played more than 10 singles matches, while her 15 wins at the No. 2 position lead the league. Krebsbach now has a singles record of 51-27 in her first three years at Gustavus.
Also a member of the All-Conference Doubles Team, Krebsbach tallied a 14-6 record as part of the top duo in the Gustie lineup. Although she ended the year playing alongside fellow junior Annie Mahoney, Laurel played the majority of her doubles matches with first-year Michaela Schulz. Together, the top two singles players in the Gustavus lineup went 13-3 at first doubles, including a 5-2 mark in league play. The pair recorded the second-most wins and fifth-best winning percentage (.812) of any tandem in the league that played more than 10 matches together.
Michaela Schulz
Apart from Krebsbach, Schulz also played doubles with Mahoney and fellow first-year Lizzy Stanczyk. With Mahoney, Michaela tallied a record of 5-2 before her stretch with Krebsbach. She later finished the season alongside Stanczyk with a perfect 4-0 record, including a 2-0 record in MIAC play and two wins in the conference tournament.
Schulz was also an All-Conference selection in singles. Playing every match in her first season at the top spot in the lineup, the rookie went 16-9 overall and 8-2 against MIAC opponents to earn the distinction. Her 13 wins at No. 1 singles ranked third among MIAC players, while her winning percentage of .650 was fourth among those who played more than 10 matches in the No. 1 position.
Sophomore Sidney Dirks rounded out the trio of Gusties to land on the All-Conference Singles Team. Dirks earned the honor for the first time in her young career after surpassing the 20-win plateau. Sidney went 20-7 on the year, including a perfect 10-0 mark against league foes. Playing in three different positions, Dirks went 2-0 at second singles, 6-5 at No. 3, and 8-0 at No. 4 to give her a 16-5 record in dual matches. She also ended the season with eight straight wins.
Sidney Dirks
Also a member of the All-Conference Doubles Team for the first time, Dirks played next to two different partners, notching a 3-4 record (2-2 MIAC) with Mahoney and a 14-5 tally (5-1 MIAC) with fellow St. Peter native Calleigh Carlson. In total, Sidney went 4-4 at second doubles and 10-4 in the third spot.
Lizzy Stanczyk was the final Gustie to be honored by the MIAC as a member of the All-Conference Doubles Team. Stanczyk, like Schulz, played with three different partners throughout the course of the year, going 3-3 with Calleight Carlson, 8-3 with Annie Mahoney, and a perfect 4-0 with Michaela Schulz. By position, Stanczyk was 1-0 at No. 1, 11-3 at No. 2, and 3-3 at No. 3.
As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC announced the eighth annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for women’s tennis. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition. This year’s Gustavus representative was senior Bailey Abeyesekera (Brooklyn Park, Minn.).
The Gustavus women’s tennis team finished the season 16-6 overall and 8-2 in the MIAC to place second in the regular season league standings. After defeating St. Thomas 5-1 in the semifinal round of the MIAC Playoffs in St. Peter, the Gusties fell to top-seeded Carleton 5-3 in the MIAC Championship match to bring the season to an end.
Lizzy Stanczyk
Bailey Abeyesekera