Pre-match introductions with Saint John's
The Gustavus men’s tennis team turned in three strong performances at the Swanson Tennis Center on Saturday with wins over Saint John’s 8-1, St. Olaf 9-0, and Grinnell 7-2. The Gusties extended their win streak to five and improved their season mark to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in MIAC play.
In the morning match, Gustavus got off to a slow start with Amrik Donkena and Patrick Clark dropping a hard-fought match to Ian Hansen and Fabricio Mancada 8-5 at #1 doubles, but that was the lone setback of the match as the Gusties won the #2 and #3 doubles matches before claiming all six singles matches in straight sets.
In the afternoon match, Gustavus jumped out to a 3-0 lead after doubles play and never looked back on its way to the 9-0 victory. Freshmen Marcel Gyswyt and Grant Leisner picked up the first conference wins of their collegiate careers in the match. Gyswyt defeated Andy Catania 7-5, 6-1 at the #4 position and Leisner defeated Jeffrey Hudson 6-2, 6-3 at the #6 position.
In the evening match, the Gusties could not solve Grinnell’s All-American Juan Carlos Perez falling to Perez at #1 singles and #1 doubles, but the Gusties won the seven other matches including five singles matches in straight sets to claim the 7-2 victory. Brooks Stapleton teamed with Gyswyt at #3 doubles to claim their second solid win of the day defeating Ishan Bhadkamkar and Sawyer Carlson-Price 8-2.
Gustavus will travel to Milwaukee, Wis. next weekend for two challenging non-conference matches. The Gusties will play the University of Chicago on Saturday and DePauw University on Sunday.