Beaver Fever Friday – Laney Rutkowski – @BSUwomenstennis

Beavers Open Spring Season

Kyle Fodness, first-year head coach of the Bemidji State University tennis program, has announced the commitment of Isabela Nelson to Beaver tennis after signing a National Letter of Intent. A standout at Lincoln High School in Thief River Falls, Minn., Nelson is the second BSU tennis commitment for the 2020-21 season.

All signees are contingent upon admission to BSU and compliance with NCAA rules, including certification by the NCAA Eligibility Center.

Nelson comes to Bemidji State after a successful prep career at Lincoln High School… As a member of the Prowlers’ girl’s tennis team Johnson is a four-time letter winner… A competitor at the Section 8A meet as a freshman and junior, she broke through in 2019… As the section doubles champion, she earned a Minnesota State High School League berth as both an individual and member of the Prowlers, which advanced to the state meet as a team… Along with her doubles partner Khloe Lund, Nelson battled into the state class A quarterfinals before her prep tennis career came to an end… A three-sport athlete, she also won three letters competing for the LHS girl’s hockey team and four as a member of the Prowler track and field team… A four-year honor student at LHS, Nelson has been member of the National Honor Society for her junior and season years… In addition, she has helped the Prowlers’ girl’s tennis team earn All-Academic Gold team recognition in 2018 and 2019.

Fodness’ comments on Nelson: “Bela is a fantastic student-athlete and will make a very strong addition to the program,” commented Fodness. “She has been a very successful three-sport athlete for Thief River Falls and is a great student leader. She is extremely athletic and has excellent court awareness, and she is looking forward to turning her full attention towards tennis for her collegiate career here at BSU.”

Nelson joins Shaelyn Johnson, a standout from Red River High School in Grand Forks, N.D., who signed an NLI in late November.

Last spring, BSU posted its fourth consecutive 10-win campaign and advanced to the NSIC Tournament. Before finishing the season 11-7 overall and 6-5 versus league competition. Following the season, senior Zoë Lindgren and junior Ariadna Lopez-Simo garnered all-conference accolades.

Kyle Fodness, first-year head coach of the Bemidji State University tennis program, has announced the commitment of Shaelyn Johnson with the signing of a National Letter of Intent. A standout at Red River High School in Grand Forks, N.D., Johnson becomes the first commitment in the Fodness era of Beaver Tennis.

All signees are contingent upon admission to BSU and compliance with NCAA rules, including certification by the NCAA Eligibility Center.

Johnson comes to Bemidji State after a successful prep career at Red River High School… As a member of the Roughriders’ girl’s tennis team Johnson is a three-time North Dakota state singles champion (2016, 2018 and 2019) and has her sights set on a fourth next spring… Only three other players in North Dakota High School Activities Association history have won as many singles titles… She also helped lead Red River to its 15th state championship in 16 years in 2017… In addition, Johnson’s United State Tennis Association Junior Team, Team Fargo 1, earned a trip to the national tournament winning the Northern Section title in late July.

Fodness’ comments on Johnson: “Shay is exactly the type of person and student-athlete that we love to have in the program. She will have a positive impact on our team, Bemidji State, and in the community.” Fodness added, “She has experienced a great deal of success over the course of her athletic career, which is due to her hard work and tremendous competitive attitude.”

Bemidji State is coming out of a fall season during which it went 2-1. The Beavers will open the competition portion of their season Feb. 2 when they travel to Grand Forks, N.D. for a non-conference match up with NCAA Division I foe University of North Dakota.