The Northwest Missouri State tennis programs received three national rankings and 11 central region rankings in the latest release from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. The Northwest men’s team will play Northwood University (Mich.) on Wednesday, May 14, at 12:30 p.m. (CST) in Alamonte Springs, Fla., in the round of 16 of the NCAA tournament.

The men’s team was ranked No. 18 nationally. Sergio De Vilchez is the No. 42 singles player in Division II and the doubles team of De Vilchez and Lluis Altimires is ranked No. 14. In the central region rankings, Northwest finished the regular season ranked first overall. In doubles, De Vilchez and Altimires were ranked third and Alvaro Riveros and Julien Couronne were ranked eighth. In singles, Northwest had four earn central region rankings including De Vilchez (No. 4), Romain Boissinot (No. 9), Riveros (No. 12) and Altimires (No. 15).

On the women’s side, the team was ranked No. 8 in the central region. Lorena Jarolim was the No. 11 seeded singles player and Alexis Bartek was ranked No. 17. The doubles tandem of Jarolim and Bartek were the fifth ranked team in the central region.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State senior Cassie Lowell finished the final round of the NCAA Central Region Super Regional with a 78 on Tuesday at the Tartan Park Golf Course in Lake Elmo, Minn.

Lowell improved her single day scores each day, shooting an 80 on Sunday, a 79 on Monday and carding a 78 today. She finished in a tie for 18th overall with a final score of 237.

Central Oklahoma won the team title by 29 strokes over Southwest Oklahoma State, 903-932. The Bronchos also had the individual winner in Taylor Neidy, who shot rounds of 72, 72 and 70 for a 214.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State senior Cassie Lowell finished round two of the NCAA Central Region Super Regional with a 79 on Monday at the Tartan Park Golf Course in Lake Elmo, Minn.

Lowell shot an opening round 80 on Sunday and improved by a stroke today. She is currently in a tie for 22nd place overall.

The final round of the super regional is scheduled for Tuesday.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State track and field teams completed the final day of the 2014 MIAA Outdoor Championships on Sunday at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo. The Northwest men finished with 51.25 points to place eighth. The women scored 48 points to finish 10th.

Lekiesha McKnight hit an NCAA automatic qualification mark in the shot put,placing second with a throw of 49-03.5 on her final throw. Fiona Moloney was seventh in the shot, marking 43-10.5. McKnight was also fourth in the hammer throw, marking 162-04 on her final attempt. Anne Herbert won the 3,000 steeplechase, hitting an NCAA provisional time of 11:03.70. Herbert also took seventh in the 5,000 later in the day, running 18:52.95. The 4×400 relay team took third to finish the day. Alexis Boyd, Audrey Bolinger, Haley Manning and Ashton Nibert improved their own school record with an NCAA provisional time of 3:45.32. The 4×100 relay team of Sam Fender, Kaley Hauschild, Boyd and Nibert placed fourth in 47.17. In the open 400, Nibert ran a provisional time of 54.36 totake fourth overall. Boyd ran 56.27 to take eighth. Taylor Woodruff was eighth in the 1,500, running 4:48.84.

On the men’s side, Ryan Cox took home the 1,500 meter title, making the pass on the final straightaway to win in 3:54.50. Tim Grundmayer was fifth in the event, running 3:56.69. Zac Bendrick placed fourth in the hammer throw with a mark of 174-09 and was sixth in the shot put with a throw of 49-11.25. Peyton Mizera placed fifth in the triple jump, hitting an NCAA provisional with a mark of 48-00.5 on his third attempt. In the pole vault, Will Haer cleared 15-10.00 to take sixth overall. Kemper Kellerstrass tied for seventh with a height of 15-04.25. In the high jump, Bryce Sheard tied for eighth with a clearance of 6-04.00. Kit Anderson placed sixth in the 3,000 steeplechase, running 9:31.14.  Zach Dixon ran 56.33 in the 400 hurdles to place seventh.

The Bearcats will be competing in a number of meets next week in hopes of improving or hitting NCAA qualifying marks. Schedule information will be available at NorthwestBearcats.com.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State senior Cassie Lowell shot an opening round 80 at the NCAA Central Region Super Regional on Sunday at the Tartan Park Golf Course.

Lowell is tied for 26th overall and is third among the four individual players.

Round two of the super regional will begin Monday morning with the final round scheduled for Tuesday.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State men’s tennis team was well represented on the 2014 All-MIAA Men’s Tennis team, which was released by the conference office on Wednesday. Head coach Mark Rosewell was named the MIAA Coach of the Year, marking the 24th time in his career he has garnered that honor. Romain Boissinot was named Freshman of the Year.

The Bearcats earned five first-team accolades, three second-team honors and an honorable mention. On the first team was Boissinot (No. 2 Singles), Alvaro Riveros (No. 3 Singles), Lluis Altimires (No. 4 Singles), Julien Couronne (No. 5 Singles) and Fin Glowick (No. 6 Singles). Couronne was the only unanimousselection on the team.

On the second team was Sergio De Vilchez (No. 1 Singles), Altimires and De Vilchez (No. 1 Doubles) and Boissinot and Amery Clews (No. 3 Doubles). Riveros and Couronne earned honorable mention accolades at No. 2 Doubles.

As the top seed of the Central Region in the NCAA Tournament, Northwest receives a bye into the round of 16, which will be hosted at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla., starting on May 14.

2014 ALL-MIAA MEN’S TENNIS TEAM

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Romain Boissinot, Northwest Missouri

COACH OF THE YEAR
Mark Rosewell, Northwest Missouri

FIRST TEAM
2S: Romain Boissinot, Northwest Missouri
3S: Alvaro Riveros, Northwest Missouri
4S: Lluis Altimires, Northwest Missouri
5S: Julien Couronne, Northwest Missouri**
6S: Fin Glowick, Northwest Missouri
**Unanimous Selection

SECOND TEAM
1S: Sergio De Vilchez, Northwest Missouri
1D: Lluis Altimires/Sergio De Vilchez, Northwest Missouri
3D: Romain Boissinot/Amery Clews, Northwest Missouri

Honorable Mention
#2D: Alvaro Riveros/Juliene Couronne, NWMSU

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State senior Alexis Bartek and freshman Aniek Kolen earned spots on All-MIAA Women’s Tennis team which was released by the conference office on Wednesday afternoon.

Kolen earned second team honors at the No. 4 singles position after going 17-3 in her first year with the Bearcats. She was a perfect 8-0 at the No. 4 position and 9-2 at No. 3. Alexis Bartek earned honorable mention accolades at No. 2 singles after going 15-8 on the year.

The Bearcats finished the season with an 11-15 overall mark and were 6-4 inMIAA play.

2014 ALL-MIAA WOMEN’S TENNIS TEAM

SECOND TEAM
4S: Aniek Kolen, Northwest Missouri

Honorable Mention
#2S: Alexis Bartek, Northwest Missouri

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State men’s tennis team earned the top seed in the NCAA Division II Central Region as the 2014 championship bracket was released on Tuesday night.

As the top seed, Northwest receives a bye into the round of 16, which will be hosted at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla., starting on May 14.

The Bearcats will be joined in Florida by the winner of No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney and No. 2 Southwest Baptist. UNK and SBU met in the MIAA semifinals, with Southwest Baptist winning, 5-1.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State senior golfer Cassie Lowell was named to the All-MIAA second team on Tuesday afternoon, in a release from the league office.

This is the fourth league honor for Lowell in her career with the Bearcats. In 2010-11, she was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore she garnered MIAA Player of the Year honors and last season as a junior, she earned First-Team All-MIAA accolades.

Lowell holds program records for low 18 and low 36 round scores, season rounds played, career rounds played, single season stroke average, career top-10 finishes and individual tournament victories. This year, she has played in 11 events and leads the team with an 81.59 stroke average and six top-10 finishes.

Lowell earned a spot in the NCAA Central Region super regional and will compete at the Tartan Park Golf Course in Lake Elmo, Minn., starting on May 4.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State senior Cassie Lowell has earned a spot in the Central region super regional for a chance to qualify for the 2014 NCAA Division II Women’s Golf championship. The super regional will be held May 4-6 at the Tartan Park Golf Course in Lake Elmo, Minn. Concordia University, St. Paul, will serve as the host.

This is the first time Lowell has qualified for the super regionals. Last season, Steph Charteris qualified and placed 28th in the super regional for the Bearcats.

The top three teams along with the top three individuals not with a team from each super regional will advance to the championships. The 2014 NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships will be held May 14-17, at Rock Barn Golf & Spa in Conover, North Carolina.

Central Region Teams:

1. Arkansas Tech
2. Central Oklahoma
3. Augustana (South Dakota)
4. Northeastern State
5. Southwestern Oklahoma State
6. Henderson State
7. Concordia-St. Paul
8. Minnesota State Mankato
9. Lindenwood (Missouri)

Central Region Individuals:

1. Brittany Marquez, Harding
2. Tavia Rutherford, Sioux Falls
3. Christy Nelson, Upper Iowa
4. Cassie Lowell, Northwest Missouri State

— Northwest Sports Information —