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The Niagara Purple Eagles begin their quest for a conference championship on Saturday when they play the Marist Red Foxes in the MAAC Tournament Semifinals at 10 a.m. at the Mercer County Park in West Windsor, N.J.

Niagara (14-7, 6-1 MAAC) had one of its best regular season in recent memory. The Purple Eagles, who were picked to finish fourth, ended the season in a first place tie with Fairfield and Marist (9-7, 6-1 MAAC). NU’s 14 wins are the most since the 2004-05 season, which was the last time the Purple and White won the MAAC Tournament. NU reeled off six straight matches for its longest winning streak since the 2004-05 campaign.

NU accomplished this with a relatively young roster, featuring one senior, one freshman and six sophomores. Captain Hilary Hansen, the lone senior on the squad, is 14-10 on the season. Hansen is the only member on the team that has played in a MAAC Tournament, having played in the 2009 and 2010 editions. Hansen is 3-1 in singles and 2-3 in doubles all-time in the MAAC Tournament.

The sophomore core of Ashley Ta, Maria Ortiz and Iva Celan are a combined 21-7 in their last 28 singles matches. Ta, the reigning MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year, is 11-14 on the season but has won six of her last 10. Ortiz is 11-7 and went 6-1 in the MAAC in four singles. The most in-form member on the team is Celan, who is riding a 10-match winning streak. The Mountain View, Calif. native went unbeaten (7-0) in MAAC action in No. 5 singles, is 15-6 on the season and was named MAAC Player of the Week on March 19.

However, it is a freshman that leads the team in wins for the second straight season and third time in the last four seasons. Sarah Hellstern began her collegiate career in the spring season by winning 13 straight singles matches and earned consecutive MAAC Players of the Week awards during that stretch. She finished the regular season with a 16-3 record in singles.

In doubles, the No. 1 duo of Hansen and Ortiz lead the team with a 15-4 record and went 6-1 in conference. Their doubles winning percentage is NU’s best since the tandem of Mariam Al-Shikarchy and Danielle Griener went 14-3 during the 2003-04 season. Celan and Hellstern went 11-4 in No. 2 doubles.

The Purple Eagles were denied an outright regular-season title when they were edged by the Red Foxes, 4-3, last Saturday. Niagara is 3-2 against Marist in the MAAC Tournament since 2002, with all three wins coming in the semifinal round (2003, 05, 09).