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Jessa Richards
Jessa Richards named NSIC Tennis Player of the Year

Women's Tennis

Richards, Darr, Kurtz earn individual honors, while seven Vikings named All-NSIC

BURNSVILLE, Minn. - With their sixth straight undefeated season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, Augustana placed seven individuals and three doubles pairings on the All-NSIC teams while Jessa Richards, Berkley Darr and Marc Kurtz collected individual honors according to a release from the conference on Wednesday.
 
Richards was named NSIC Player of the Year after leading the Vikings to an undefeated conference record in both singles and doubles competition. The Eden Prairie, Minn. native dominated the No. 1 singles spot for the Vikings this seasons and capped off her junior career posting a 17-4 overall record and a perfect 10-0 NSIC mark to grab first-team All-NSIC honors along with player of the year accolades. Richards owned the No. 7 ranking in the most recent ITA Central Region rankings.

Darr earned NSIC Freshman of the Year after recording a 16-3 record in her first collegiate season for the Vikings. The Sioux Falls, S.D. native finished perfect in NSIC competition with an 11-0 mark, including three wins at No. 2 and No. 3 singles also to earn second-team accolades. Darr, who partner with four different players at all three double spots, finished the season with a 10-3 overall record and 4-1 record in the NSIC play.
 
Collecting the honor for the fifth time in six years, Kurtz has been tabbed as the NSIC Coach of the Year as he once again led his team to the NSIC regular season and tournament titles. Finishing his seventh season as the Vikings head coach Kurtz led Augustana to a 21-4 record, the third straight season with at least 20 wins, and a perfect 11-0 mark in NSIC competition to take their sixth consecutive regular-season conference title. Under Kurtz's tutelage, the Vikings won their fifth consecutive NSIC Tournament title to secure their sixth straight berth to the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The Vikings have also reeled off 66 consecutive regular season NSIC match wins over the past six years, including 46 wins without giving up a single match. Kurtz now owns a 140-31 overall record and a 69-3 conference mark as the Augustana head coach.

Sydney Postal earned first-team All-NSIC honors after spending two previous season at California State University, Los Angeles. The Llano, Calif. native put up a 15-5 record on the singles circuit in her junior season, playing the No. 2 singles flight for the Vikings and finished 2-0 at the No. 1 singles spot.

The doubles pairing of Richards and Postal collected first-team All-NSIC honors after running through the conference at the No. 1 doubles spot, finishing the conference schedule with an undefeated 11-0 mark. The top Viking pairing only dropped two matches on the year and finished the season with six shutout victories during NSIC regular season. Using a 21-2 overall record, Richards and Postal rose to the No. 3 ranking in the ITA's central region rankings.

Christine Olivo collected two second-team All-NSIC nods in her sophomore campaign. A native of Bozeman, Mont., Olivo went 8-6 in singles competition, logging all eight of those wins at No. 3 singles and finished the season with a 6-1 NSIC record in singles competition.

Joining Olivo on the All-NSIC doubles second team is senior Heather Sullivan who only suffered two losses as the No. 2 doubles squad for Augustana. Olivo and Sullivan earned second-team honors for a second straight year after finishing the season 8-2 overall which included a 6-1 mark in NSIC action. A senior from Mankato, Minn. this is the third time Sullivan has earned All-NSIC honors.

Hailing from Grand Island, Neb., Jenna Helleberg finishes her fruitful career at Augustana earning her second straight All-NSIC honors in singles and the first time she has been named to the second team. Helleberg, predominantly playing the No. 5 singles, finished her senior season with a 14-6 record and went undefeated in NSIC competition with a 10-0 record.

Meredith Lawrence continued to dominate conference opponents' as the No. 6 singles player to finish 10-0 in the NSIC to earn honorable mention All-NSIC honors for a second straight season. Hailing from Prior Lake, Minn., Lawrence finished the season with a team-best record of 19-1 in singles competition.
 
As the No. 3 doubles pairing, Helleberg and Lawrence grabbed second-team honors after finishing the conference season undefeated with an 8-0 record and cruising to a 15-3 mark overall in doubles competition.
 
The Vikings' season came to a close when they fell 5-0 at No. 17 Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla. in the NCAA Central Region Tournament. Augustana finished the season 21-4, 11-0 in NSIC competition.
 

--- GoAugie.com --- 
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Players Mentioned

Jenna Helleberg

Jenna Helleberg

Senior
Meredith Lawrence

Meredith Lawrence

Sophomore
Christine Olivo

Christine Olivo

Sophomore
Jessa Richards

Jessa Richards

Junior
Heather Sullivan

Heather Sullivan

Senior
Berkley Darr

Berkley Darr

5' 11"
Freshman
Sydney Postal

Sydney Postal

Junior

Players Mentioned

Jenna Helleberg

Jenna Helleberg

Senior
Meredith Lawrence

Meredith Lawrence

Sophomore
Christine Olivo

Christine Olivo

Sophomore
Jessa Richards

Jessa Richards

Junior
Heather Sullivan

Heather Sullivan

Senior
Berkley Darr

Berkley Darr

5' 11"
Freshman
Sydney Postal

Sydney Postal

Junior