Sophomore Sidney Dirks picked up a pair of wins on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Andrew Vold '14)
Sartell, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s tennis team won its sixth consecutive match on Sunday afternoon, defeating the College of Saint Benedict 9-0 at Fitness Evolution in Sartell, Minn. With the win, the Gusties improve to 6-1 overall and 3-0 against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponents.
While Gustavus got straight-set wins at four positions, two Gusties outlasted their opponents with third set tiebreakers. At second singles, Laurel Krebsbach (Jr., North Oaks, Minn.) dropped her first set 7-6 (7-5) to Saint Benedict’s Jamie Hoffman before turning around and rolling in the second set 6-0. Krebsbach then controlled the tiebreaker, winning 10-7.
Sidney Dirks (So., St. Peter, Minn.) also split her first two sets on her way to defeating Laura Finn at third singles. Dirks opened with a 6-3 win in the first set before falling 6-4 in the second. The tiebreaker went Sidney’s way, as she captured a 10-6 advantage in to notch another point for her team.
Michaela Schulz (Fy., Elk River, Minn.), Aryn Eckstrom (Fy., St. James, Minn.), Lizzy Stanczyk (Fy., Plymouth, Wis.), and Annie Mahoney (Jr., Duluth, Minn.) each recorded straight-set wins. Schulz won at first singles 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), Eckstrom came away with a victory at fourth singles 6-3, 6-2, fifth singles belonged to Stanczyk with a final of 6-4, 6-0, and Mahoney took sixth singles 6-4, 6-2.
The Gusties breezed to wins at first and second doubles. Schulz and Krebsbach won 8-5 at the first position, while Stanczyk and Mahoney captured an 8-2 win at No. 2. Dirks and Calleigh Carlson (Fy., St. Peter, Minn.) teamed up to take the final doubles win at No. 3 with a 9-8 score, taking the tiebreaker 7-2.
Gustavus will be back in action on Saturday, March 22nd when the Gusties travel to Winona, Minn., to take on Saint Mary’s University and Winona State University and 12:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m., respectively.