All-MIAC Women's Tennis Release

WINONA, Minn. — Call it the official passing of the torch.

Saint Mary's University's Bailey Edwards (Fond du Lac, Wis.) has been giving opposing women's tennis coaches fits for the past four years, while younger sister McKennah Edwards has just started making coaches around the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference pull their hair out in frustration.

Wednesday afternoon, Bailey Edwards was named All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team in both singles and doubles — for the third straight year — while McKennah joined her on the conference podium for the first time.

The all-conference honors are the perfect end to a stellar collegiate career for Bailey Edwards, who leaves SMU as the career singles (57) and doubles (58) record-holder, not to mention the owner of the school's single-season doubles record (21). She also finished with 13 singles wins this season.

McKennah Edwards, meanwhile, is following in her older sister's record-setting footsteps, closing out her first collegiate campaign with a single-season school record 22 singles wins.

The Edwards sisters were the most successful doubles combination in the conference this season, as the Cardinal duo combined for a conference-best 17-2 dual-match record — including a perfect 9-0 run through the conference schedule — and closed out the season ranked No. 8 in the ITA Central Region rankings.

McKennah Edwards — the youngest of three Edwards sisters on this year's squad — took the tennis world by storm in 2012. She won five singles matches to reach the final of the USTA-ITA Midwest Regional in September and never slowed down, recording a single-season school-record 22 singles wins this season — including 17 dual-match victories this spring. She won her last five matches, was 8-2 in her last 10 and finished with a team-best 22-6 singles record.

As part of the conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the sixth annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for women's tennis, which included SMU's Abby Voigt (Burnsville, Minn.)

The 2012 Chris Evert Award was given to Concordia's Andrea Rognlien. The award annually recognizes a senior tennis student-athlete with outstanding sportsmanship and exemplary athletic, academic and humanitarian accomplishments. In addition to all her off-the-court qualifications, Rognlien had a marvelous senior season for the Cobbers, earning all-conference singles honors to go along with the Chris Evert Award.

Carleton's Luciano Battaglini and St. Catherine's Ben Hageseth were named the 2012 MIAC Women's Co-Coaches of the Year. Battaglini's Carleton squad made history this season, ending Gustavus' 20-year reign atop the MIAC standings. The Knights, a perfect 10-0 in conference play, captured the regular season title and also beat the Gusties in last Saturday's MIAC Women's Tennis Playoffs championship match to add the postseason crown as well. Hageseth shared the honor after a great season for St. Catherine. The Wildcats used a clutch win on the final day of the regular season to separate themselves from a three-team fight for the final MIAC Playoff bid. SCU finished above .500 overall at 12-8, and its 5-5 MIAC record helped it finish sixth in the standings and earn the No. 6 seed in the postseason tournament.