Twelve different players (believed to be a University of Minnesota Duluth first) received court time in the Bulldogs' final match of the 2015 season Sunday afternoon -- a 7-2 non-conference setback at Bemidji State University.
"With nothing really to lose, I wanted to use our entire 12-person roster today and see what some of them can do in various spots," said UMD head coach
Bob Skenzich, whose Bulldogs finished the year with a 5-11 overall record after going 1-11 the previous spring. "Our top four singles players all played just doubles, so that meant some new faces in the lineup."
UMD's two victories came in doubles -- sophomore
Drew DeCorsey and freshman
Shelby Benkofske prevailed 9-7 at No. 2 and rookies Katie Baash and
Kelsey Zetah pulled out an 8-6 triumph at No. 3. Sophomore
Kaitlin Wohnoutka made her collegiate No. 1 singles debut, while rookie
Jillian Klasen did likewise at No. 2 and sophomore Brianna Rademacher at No. 3.In addition, both freshman
Emma Bartels and
Karly Weber took part in their first-ever singles matches as Bulldogs, at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.
Wohnoutka posted UMD's best overall singles mark in 2015 at 9-6 (primarily at No. 5 and No. 4) while Klasen was an even 8-8 (No. 6 and No. 5) and Benofske went 7-8 (No. 3 and No. 4). In doubles, DeCorsey and Benofske paced the Bulldogs in wins (6-9) and Baasch and Zetah in winning percentage (.714 off a 5-2 mark)
Sunday's match marked the end of the line for UMD's lone two seniors --
Alyssa Brunelli and
Kara Saemann. Those two, along with Kolles were the Bulldogs' only three upperclassmen.
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