NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College women's tennis team is ready to face a strong University of Northwestern (Minn.) team in the semifinal round of the UMAC Tennis Championships on Friday, May 5.

MLC finished the season with a 6-9 record overall and a 6-4 mark in UMAC play, good for third place in the final league standings.

They will face a UNW team that tied for the top record in the conference at 9-1, but fell to the number two seed due to tiebreakers. The Eagles finished the regular season with a record of 23-5 overall.

The Eagles won both match-ups between the two teams this season by a final score of 9-0, and feature three players with a singles record of 9-1 or better in conference play.

MLC made the tournament despite replacing five key players from last season's line-up thanks to the steady play of veterans Morgan Shevey, Rachel Riediger and Sophia Birner, as well as strong debuts by newcomers Anna Hemmelman, Molly Paggi and Ella Loersch. Hemmelman has been steady throughout the season with a 7-8 overall singles record in the number one spot in the line-up, including a 6-4 record in conference play. Shevey leads MLC with eight total singles wins, including a 7-3 record in league play.

The two teams are scheduled to square off at University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center at 8:30 p.m. You can follow the tournament at the UMAC Championships website if you click here.