Women's Tennis | 1/6/2025 7:53:00 PM

CROOKSTON, Minn. - Madeleine Schneider broke down barriers in her time at Minnesota Crookston, helping lift up a struggling tennis program and building the squad into a contender. Now the former Golden Eagle will become a first, as she is recognized in Nashville, Tenn., as a NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30 honoree January 15. 

Madeleine recalled the emotions she felt, first when she learned she was nominated for the prestigious award and second, when she learned she was a Top 30 recipient. "It was already an honor to be nominated because not many people across the United States are nominated, so I was thrilled to know I was going to be a candidate from Minnesota Crookston. After I found out I was in the Top 30, I had an even more excited and thrilled feeling. It is a really huge honor, it is such a big award. I was speechless."

Schneider will join women from across all three NCAA divisions, and who represent Universities in 14 states, and 13 different sports. She is excited for the opportunity to learn the stories of the other 29 student-athletes who will be honored at the banquet at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

"It is going to be awesome to meet the other Top 30 honorees because they are such awesome women that have achieved so much," Schneider stated. "I am excited to network with them, and talk about their experience. I am excited that all of us get to have this experience together. I never thought I would be able to have an experience like this, so it is very thrilling to be able to be a part of it. I am excited to visit Nashville, it is a fun city."

Schneider is proud of what she was able to accomplish at Minnesota Crookston on and off the court. Her favorite memory though, was the rise of the Golden Eagle tennis program and making the program's first-ever NSIC Tournament appearance in 2024.

"The most memorable experience was my last year of my tennis career when we made it to the NSIC Tournament since it is something the program has not achieved before," Schneider shared. "It was so special to be a part of that experience. We had a pretty tight match, and I hope the program carries on and the team can keep improving and make it back to the NSIC Tournament. Overall, it has been so memorable to be a part of building the program and seeing it go from not being able to compete in the NSIC, to being in the upper half of the league. It was also really special when my loved ones got to watch me compete."

Schneider is also very proud in her role of helping build the international community within the Golden Eagle tennis program. When she arrived in Crookston, it was only her and Ashley Chomyn from Winnipeg, Canada, as the only international student-athletes on the roster. The Minnesota Crookston tennis roster has six international student-athletes on the 2025 roster.

"We started out pretty small with our international community and it has grown rapidly," Schneider stated. "It is super exciting for Minnesota Crookston to get more diversity and draw in different perspectives. In the tennis program, we are getting all kinds of different players. It is exciting as a program to experience culture from Spain, and culture from Canada. It is nice to have a mix of nationalities. It makes me proud."

Schneider attributes a lot of her growth as a tennis player, and as a person to her coaches at Minnesota Crookston, Josh Lunak and Holly Mewes. "Josh is a great coach. He had a great positive influence on me. He had this priority list, family and loved ones were always on top of the list. He was always understanding if someone needed to spend time with their family, he would always encourage it. Second, was that we were students. He wanted us to focus on our work in the classroom, and third we were athletes. I really liked the way he approached us being student-athletes because he also realized there were priorities outside the classroom. Overall, it made us work even harder because we had an understanding coach. We were able to voice our opinion and never had to conform to what he wanted. He had a very open coaching style. Coach Holly supported it, as well. Without them, the growth of the program wouldn't have been possible."

Schneider has continued to play Tennis since she has graduated and is out in the workforce. The structure has changed, as she now has to rely on herself to create her schedule and workout plan. "It is different now since I graduated. I have to get used to rankings and selecting tournaments. It makes me appreciate Josh and Holly even more, and Nick Stone because the workouts were given to us. Now I have to create my own workouts, and schedule my own practices."

Schneider, who was an outstanding student at Minnesota Crookston, received her bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota Crookston with high distinction with degrees in information technology management, and software engineering in May of 2024. She is now working as a software engineer at DigiKey. While her journey at Minnesota Crookston is over, her journey as a person and professional is just beginning and is sure to continue to accomplish great feats.