NCAA Central Region 2 Championship Central  I  Digital Program

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The No. 17-ranked Northeastern State women's tennis team is set to host the 2015 NCAA Central Region 2 Championship May 3-4 at the NSU Tennis Complex.
 
The RiverHawks (18-5), seeded No. 2 in the region, will first meet No. 7 seed Augustana (21-3) in the first round of the national tournament at 2 p.m. May 3. No. 49-ranked and No. 3-seeded Northwest Missouri State will face No. 6 seed Nebraska-Kearney earlier in the day at 9:30 a.m. in Tahlequah. The two winners will meet at 10 a.m. May 4 for the right to advance to the Round of 16 of the NCAA Championship, which will be held May 13-16 in Surprise, Arizona.
 
Northeastern State is coming off a loss in the finals of the 2015 MIAA Championship, but the green and white was able to secure the regular season conference championship after going 10-0 against league competition during the regular season. The RiverHawks have won 12 of their last 14 matches.
 
No. 39-ranked junior Patricia Husakova boasts a top record of 19-2 in singles, playing primarily at the No. 2 position. Freshman Molly Worden is 17-5, and No. 36-ranked junior Kristina Savchenkov is 16-5. Husakova and Savchenkov comprise the No. 10-ranked doubles team in the nation, and they are 19-2 as a tandem this spring.
 
Northeastern State has advanced past this stage of the tournament and reached the national finals each of the past two years.
 
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Augustana enters the NCAA Championship with the most victories in Central Region 2. The Vikings are riding high after winning their sixth-straight NSIC Championship. They defeated Upper Iowa 5-1 in the finals and they are undefeated against non-Division I schools this season.
 
There are no common opponents between Augie and NSU this season. Augustana has competed in just two true road contests all season, and the team has yet to face a ranked foe.
 
The Vikings are led at the top of the lineup by Jessa Richards, who is 17-3 this season and did not lose a match in league play. Sydney Postal is 17-4 playing primarily at No. 2 singles, and Meredith Lawrence owns a dominant 19-1 record playing at the bottom of the lineup.
 
The doubles team of Postal and Richards are 21-1, while Lawrence and Jenna Helleberg are 15-2.
 
The last time these two sides met was in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Championship. Northeastern State collected a 5-3 triumph in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to end Augie's season and head to the NCAA Round of 16 for the second-straight year.
 
NCAA CENTRAL REGION 2 CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
Tahlequah, Okla. – May 3
Match 1 – No. 3 Northwest Missouri State vs. No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney – 9:30 am
Match 2 – No. 2 Northeastern State vs. No. 7 Augustana – 2 pm

NCAA CENTRAL REGION 2 CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
Tahlequah, Okla. – May 4
Match 3 – Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner – 10 am

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