Storm crown two champions at IIAC Individual Tournament

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Michelle Hartman won Flight C singles and the team of Tiffany Bost and Allison Anderson came out on top of the Flight B doubles bracket, highlighting a solid performance by the Simpson women's tennis team at the 2012 Iowa Conference Individual Tournament last weekend.

"Each of the girls performed well this past weekend," fifth-year head coach Lindsay Chase said. "I was thrilled to see that so many of our players had success in advancing so far in their brackets."

A freshman, Hartman took down the top two seeds in the bracket to become the fourth individual conference champion under Chase, going 4-0 in contested matches over the weekend. She advanced by walkover in the first round, defeated Dubuque's Janine Wegner 8-0 in the second round and advanced to the semifinals with a close 9-8 (4) win over Buena Vista's Amanda Kavan. In the semifinals, Hartman handled top-seeded Alexandra Dixon of Dubuque 8-2. She then took home the championship by way of an 8-3 win over Stephanie LoCasto of Dubuque, the second seed in the tournament.

Bost and Anderson cruised through the Flight B doubles bracket on the way to the title, their closest match being an 8-5 decision over Brita Jensen and Katherine Ross of Wartburg in the semifinals. The seniors went on to beat Coe's Diannah Watson and Amy Sebastian 8-3 in the finals for the first doubles championship of the Chase era.

Anderson and fellow senior Lindsay Nash fared well in the Flight B singles bracket, with each advancing to the semifinals before meeting each other in the consolation match.

Nash blanked Coe's Watson in the second round 6-0, 6-0 and went three sets with top-seeded Michelle McKenzie of Wartburg in the quarterfinals, winning 6-2, 0-6, 1-0 (2). She fell to the consolation match thanks to an 8-3 loss to Anna Bowser of Central.

Anderson knocked off Luther's Abby Landsness 6-1, 6-4 in the second round and topped Central's Amanda Kuhn 7-5, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. In the semis, Anderson lost a heart-breaking, 9-7 decision to eventual flight-champion Elizabeth Hoffman of Coe.

Nash won the battle for third against her teammate while Anderson settled for fourth.

"For Allison, Tiffany, and Lindsay it was exceptionally great to see each of them place during their final tournament as seniors," Chase said. "I was proud of both Lindsay and Allison for competing so well on Friday; the conditions were tough, they faced some tough opponents and played several matches, however, they battled through it all to make both the semis of doubles and singles."

Another notable weekend performance came from the doubles team of Nash and freshman Kelli Ehrhardt in the B bracket. The duo won their first three matches before falling to Watson and Sebastian of Coe in the semifinals. Nash and Ehrhardt finished fourth after an 8-5 loss to Wartburg's Jensen and Ross in the consolation round.

"Overall, it was a great weekend for the team and a nice way to cap off our fall season," Chase said.