Ali Kopiecki has already served notice she will be a player to watch when the 2019 women's tennis season unfolds in a couple of months.
The sophomore went farther than any previous Piper when she advanced to the finals of the 2018 ITA/Oracle Midwest Regional Tennis Championships h\eld last weekend at Gustavus Adolphus in St. Peter.
Kopiecki won four singles matches in two days before falling to Ginger Valentine of GAC in the title match Sept. 24.Interestingly, two of those matches were against potential future MIAC foes, including the 7-6, 7-5 win over Bethel's Grace Rierman in the semifinals.
A win there would have earned Kopiecki Hamline's first ever All-American honor in tennis.
Last spring, Koipiecki led all No. 1 singles players with a gaudy 16-3 won-loss mark in singles. If the weekend's activity is any indication, the Andover, Minn. native may be on to bigger and better results come next spring.