MWC Women's Team Tournament

MADISON, Wis. - Grinnell College's women's tennis team looks to punch its ticket to the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the ninth time in program history Thursday when it competes in the four-team Midwest Conference Team Tourney.

The Pioneers, ranked 19th in the Central Region, won the league title last fall with a spotless 9-0 record and are 17-4 overall. As the top seed, they will play fourth-seeded St. Norbert College at 11:30 a.m. at Nielsen Tennis Center. St. Norbert is 6-3 in the league and 15-14 in all matches. Last fall, Grinnell blanked the Green Knights 9-0.

Leading the singles charge for Grinnell are Milica Cvrkota '21 (25-5 record), Ali Hickey '21 (23-5), Abby Nielsen '21 (23-3), Anushka Joshi '18 (17-7), Brenda Guan '20 (7-8) and Sydney Banach '18 (12-2). The doubles lineup has consisted of Cvrkota-Nielsen (5-4), Hickey-Joshi (3-1) and Guan-Banach (1-2).

The other semifinal pits second-seeded Lake Forest College and third-seeded Cornell College. The semifinal winners meet at 4 p.m., with that winner earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament.