After nearly a two week reprieve, the University of Minnesota Duluth tennis club is back in action for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference outings this Friday and Saturday in Virginia, Minn. The Bulldogs, coming off a successful 2-0 start to begin the 2025 campaign, square off against the University of Minnesota Crookston Friday at 4:30 p.m. They then will turn their attention to Bemidji State University for a rematch of the season opener Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MINNESOTA CROOKSTON: The Golden Eagles are 2-2 on the season after recently defeating Division III for Concordia College 7-0 last Sunday in Grand Forks, N.D. They opened the season losing a tightly-fought match to St. Cloud State University in the season opener on Jan. 31 before coming back to take out Bemidji State the following week. The University of North Dakota swept Minnesota Crookston.

SCOUTING REPORT ON BEMIDJI STATE: The Beavers are 1-3 so far this season and, like the Bulldogs, have been off since both teams last met at the Duluth Indoor Sports Center on Feb 8. Bemidji State won their season opener against the University of Wisconsin-River Falls then proceeded to drop three in a row including the setback to UMD. 

PREVIOUSLY: UMD took victories over Bemidji State and the College of Saint Scholastica to open the 2025 season at the Duluth Sports Indoor Center. The Bulldogs battled to a 4-3 win over the Beavers in their season opener, taking four of the six singles matches to secure the win. In the night cap, UMD thumped the cross-town rival Saints 5-2 to complete the double header. The Bulldogs again captured victories in four of the six singles matches and took the additional point by winning two of the three doubles matches.

BY THE NUMBERS: UMD is 8-4 in singles matches and 3-3 in doubles matches this season. 
 

UMD in Singles and Doubles Action
Number	Singles	Doubles
1	1-1	0-2
2	0-2	2-0
3	1-1	1-1
4	2-0	--
5	2-0	--
6	2-0	--
Total	8-4	3-3

TALK ABOUT THE DEPTH: The Bulldogs' depth in one-on-one scenarios paid off in the first two matches to start the season. UMD went 6-0 in the No. 4, 5, 6 spots with senior Olivia Honsey, freshman Isabelle Simon, freshman Olivia Gorton, junior Lilly Nelson, and junior Brynne Folden all coming through in their matches.

HONSEY'S HOT START: Senior Olivia Honsey is currently the lone Bulldog to be 2-0 in singles action. It was Honsey's first win since taking the No. 4 singles match against Upper Iowa University back on March 25, 2023. Four other Bulldogs -- Brynne Folden, Olivia Gorton, Lilly Nelson and Isabelle Simon -- are 1-0.

EPPEN'S UNDEFEATED DOUBLES MARK: Sophomore Courtney Eppen 2-0 in doubles competition this year -- the lone Bulldog to win both of their matches on opening weekend. She received her first collegiate victory in the process, doing so in the opener against Bemidji State with her partner Olivia Gorton in the No. 2 spot.

SNEAK PREVIEW: The Bulldogs venture to Florida for their annual spring break trip as they will compete against four clubs during a four-day span starting with Swarthmore College on Monday, March 10 in Orlando, Fla.