Women's Tennis

The No. 36 Gophers men’s tennis team lost its third consecutive match Saturday in a 6-1 defeat at No. 29 Louisville.

After claiming the lone doubles point, Minnesota lost all six singles matches to fall to 1-3 on the season.

Phillip Arndt lost at No. 1 singles to 113th-ranked Andrew Carter by a score of 6-2, 6-1.

Minnesota’s only ranked singles player — No. 118 Leandro Toledo at second singles — fell 7-6, 7-5 to Sebastian Stiefelmeyer.

The Gophers’ women’s tennis team left room for improvement after this weekend’s Gopher Invitational. Freshman Julia Courter took second place in the tier-two singles bracket.

Together, senior Magdalena Wiecha and junior Alexa Palen took third place in the tier-one doubles bracket. The rest of the team did not place.

“We certainly have the capability to do better,” head coach Tyler Thompson said.

With a week of practice under its belt, the Gopher’s women’s tennis team is preparing to kick off its 2011 fall season with the Gopher Invitational this weekend.

The focus this year?

Fundamentals, according to head coach Tyler Thompson. He said that although he put a strong emphasis on the basics of the game last year, he plans to make it an even bigger focus this year.

Minnesota will get its first crack at live competition Friday at the Baseline Tennis Center. The tournament runs through Sunday.

With the regular season coming to a close this weekend, the injury-marred Gophers women’s tennis team has one last shot at redemption.

After getting off to a 4-3 start and being ranked as high as No. 59 in the nation, Minnesota has plummeted, losing 12 of its last 13 matches.

Injuries to key players have been detrimental, as the lineup has been jostled periodically with players having to play higher than normal.

However, junior Magdalena Wiecha feels that the lineup shakeups have had their benefits as well.