Mya Smith-Dennis and Amrik Donkena provided Gustavus a big point at No. 1 doubles in a tightly-contested match against UW-Whitewater
St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s tennis team was busy with another morning/night doubleheader on Saturday at the Swanson Tennis Center. The Gusties defeated Hamline University 9-0 in the morning, then topped UW-Whitewater 6-3 to bring the day to a close. Gustavus improves to 9-5 overall and 3-0 in the MIAC with the victories.
Although Gustavus cruised past Hamline with a sweep of both singles and doubles, the Gusties were in for a battle in the nightcap against a UW-Whitewater team that came into the match ranked eighth in the central region according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). After taking two of three points in doubles play, Gustavus picked up four wins in singles. Amrik Donkena (Sr., Rochester, Minn.) at No. 1 singles, Juan Louis Chu (Jr., Lima, Peru) at No. 2, Grant Leisner (Anoka, Minn.) at No. 4, and Brad Entwistle (So., Sioux Falls, S.D.) at No. 6 all provided singles wins for the Black and Gold.
“It was a full team effort tonight,” said Head Coach Tommy Valentini. “Whitewater is an excellent team. They’re deep, talented, and experienced. Our guys did a beautiful job staying composed and maintaing belief in themselves during some tough spots of the match.”
Coach Valentini commended the effort of his top doubles pair of Donkena and Mya Smith-Dennis (Jr., Savage, Minn.). “Our number one doubles team seized momentum for us with a great comeback win, but a number of guys stepped up – especially as we moved into the singles,” he commented.
The Gustavus men’s tennis team will be in action again on Saturday, March 16 with another morning/night double feature at the Swanson Tennis Center. The Gusties will face Saint John’s at 9:30 a.m. before battling Elmhurst at 6:00 p.m.
“We had great support from our entire roster tonight, and our guys trusted in each other and our approach,” concluded Valentini. “It was great to see them rewarded with this result, and I’m hopeful we can build on it moving forward.”
Gustavus 9 def. Hamline 0 | Box Score
Gustavus 6 def. UW-Whitewater 3 | Box Score