By Donny Nadeau
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The post-season awards proved to be twice as nice for Saint Mary's University of Minnesota's Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.).
 
The Cardinal junior not only collected her second career First-Team All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference singles honor when the league announced its all-conference women's tennis teams on Tuesday, but she also earned First-Team All-MIAC honors in doubles as well.
 
And to keep with the theme that good things come in twos, Sonday was joined on the post-season podium by a pair of teammates. Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.) collected her first collegiate First-Team All-MIAC singles honor, while Colleen Lois (Green Bay, Wis.) was a First-Team All-MIAC doubles selection in her first year as a Cardinal.
 
After collecting 13 singles wins in her freshman campaign and 12 a year ago, Sonday enjoyed a career year in 2018, posting 16 dual-match singles wins—including a run of 11 consecutive victories late in the year—en route to a 16-5 overall record. The junior was the only Cardinal to play all 21 matches at the same position—and has now played 59 consecutive matches at No. 1 singles. Sonday's 16 wins—all straight-set victories—were tied with Hamline's Ali Kopiecki for the top spot among the MIAC's No. 1 singles players.
 
And in doubles, Sonday was equally as impressive. After posting a combined 19 doubles wins in her first two seasons, Sonday—again a mainstay at No. 1—recorded 15 doubles victories in 2018, tops in the MIAC at that position.
 
Like Sonday, Boeve enjoyed a breakout junior year in 2018, sharing the team lead with 16 singles victories—going 2-0 at No. 3 and 14-5 at No. 4. Boeve, who won 13 singles matches in both her freshman and sophomore seasons, closed out the year winning her last 11 straight matches and led the MIAC with her 14 wins at No. 4 singles.
 
Lois turned more than a few heads during her freshman season at Saint Mary's, teaming with Sonday to lead the MIAC with 15 victories at No. 1 doubles. Lois and Sonday—who put together winning streaks of three, four, and five straight victories—closed out the year 10-2 in their last 12 matches. Lois kicked off her collegiate career with five straight victories last September—winning all three of her singles matches in the Gustavus Fall Invitational, while teaming with Sonday for a pair of doubles wins at the ITA/Oracle Midwest Region Tournament.
 
Lily Stein of Macalester was presented with the conference's Chris Evert Award, while Gustavus coach Jon Carlson was named MIAC Coach of the Year.
 
The MIAC also announced the 11th annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for both men's and women's tennis, which included Saint Mary's Bobby Tiedemann (Euclid, Minn.) and Sheyenne Bauer (Cannon Falls, Minn.).