Norse Lose Heartbreaker to Coe in Final of NCAA Qualifier
April 19, 2008
Luther lost a hard fought 5-4 decision to Coe College in the finals of the NCAA III National Qualifier in Cedar Rapids this afternoon. This is the first time the Iowa Conference has conducted a separate tournament to determine its automatic qualifier and just the second in which the NCAA has granted Division III conferences automatic qualification in tennis.
Luther (27-7) took two of three doubles points with an 8-5 win at #2 by Alana Humpal and Katie Nichols and an 8-6 win at #3 by Kelsie Allen and Amy Christenson. Coe pulled ahead in the match thanks to straight-set wins by Molly Fiala, Hannah Jensen, and Hillary Allen at the top three singles positions giving the Kohawks a 4-2 lead. The Norse evened the score at 4-4 as Kelsie Allen captured a 7-6 (6), 6-1 win at #4 and Fran Fairfield scored a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 win at #5. Coe's Susan Gilmer topped Christenson 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-5 at #6 singles to record the deciding point for Coe, clinching the league's automatic qualifier.
This was the third consecutive time that Coe and Luther have played to a 5-4 decision in a tournament setting. The schools also met in the 2006 IIAC Tournament semifinals and last fall’s IIAC Tournament final. All three matches were won by the Kohawks.
Coe and Luther advanced to the finals after each school posted 5-0 sweeps in semifinal matches. The Kohawks topped #4 seed Wartburg, while Luther downed #3 seed Central in a match played at Cornell College in Mount Vernon.
