DRAGONS TO LEAN HEAVILY ON SEASONED VETERANS THIS SPRING

A wonderful mix of experience and depth is cause for a significant spike in pre-season optimism at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Veteran Gary Harris begins his 12th season as head coach at MSUM and returns a veteran cast that including a whopping 10 letterwinners, including five players who earned All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honors last year.

“We’re a little deeper than we have been in the past,” Harris said. “Our goal is to win the conference championship, and I think we’ll be closer than we’ve been in the past. Our players have certainly been working very hard.”

MSUM retains seniors Beth Helgeson (Spicer), Rose Milless (Motley) and Miranda Quast (Mandan, ND), juniors Heather Buesing (Marshall), Maria Cederberg (Princeton), Claudia Irina (St. Paul) and Kayla Parker (Bismarck, ND), and sophomores Laura Benz (Fargo, ND), Amanda DiGiovanni (Staples) and Alyssa Schafer (Mandan, ND).

Benz captured the NSIC number four singles title last year while Buesing was crowned number six champ. Rose Milless was second at number one singles and Helgeson was a runnerup at number five singles. In doubles play Cederberg and Helgeson paired to win the number three doubles title while Milless and Digiovanni were second at number one.

The 13-player Dragon roster also includes sophomore Ellie Matheson (Moorhead), and freshmen Traci Pesta (Long Prairie) and Ashley Taborsky (Bismarck, ND).

MSU Moorhead finished 8-12 overall and second at the NSIC Tournament last year.

The Dragons debut against St. Mary’s February 9.