BURNSVILLE, Minn. – Augustana women’s tennis was selected in the NSIC Preseason Women’s Tennis Coaches’ Poll to win the NSIC. The Vikings are 13-time defending NSIC Champions, have won 151 consecutive NSIC regular season matches, and have been picked to win the league every year since the preseason poll’s inception in 2018.
“We are excited about the year and to get the dual match season underway. We return many faces from last year and add three newcomers to the team. We will be solid up and down the lineup from No. 1 to No. 8 so we will have the depth this year.” said head coach Marc Kurtz.
The Vikings amassed 81 points and all nine first-place votes after going 21-4 and 11-0 in the NSIC in 2023 while advancing to the second round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament. Minnesota State was selected second with 71 points and the other first-place vote (coaches cannot vote for their team).
The preseason coaches’ poll is based on each coach ranking each team with the top team receiving 9 points, second 8, third 7, etc.
The 2024 NSIC Women’s Tennis season gets underway on Friday, February 2 with non-conference action. The 2024 NSIC Women’s Tennis Tournament will consist of the top eight teams in the final NSIC standings competing in a single elimination format on April 26-28 at Huether Family Match Pointe in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Florentia Hadjigeorgiou has been picked as the NSIC Preseason Player of the Year for the third time in her career. The 2023 NSIC Player of the Year is a Three-Time NSIC All-Conference First Team Singles, Three-Time NSIC All-Conference First Team Doubles, and is coming off a 17-4 record in singles play, all at No.1 singles and a 14-8 record in doubles, partnered with Aleksandra Kistanova and Senem Ocal during the 2023 season.
“Florentia is a senior and team captain this year and she’s had an excellent career at Augustana. She had a strong showing this fall and made it to the national ITA Fall Cup. She is one of the top-ranked players in the region and nation so we are looking for great things from her this year.” Said head coach Marc Kurtz.
Women’s tennis kicks off their season with a Friday, Feb. 2, and Saturday, Feb. 3 match against MSU Denver and Newman in Kearney, Nebraska. AU follows up its opening weekend with five straight home matches. The Vikings will spend Spring Break in Orlando, Florida before returning home to close out the season with eight more matches.
– GoAugie.com –