Lizzy Stanczyk went 4-0 in the two matches, including a huge win at fifth singles against Trinity.
San Antonio, Texas – The Gustavus women’s tennis team picked up a pair of big wins in Texas to begin the week. The Gusties defeated Texas Lutheran University 8-1 on Sunday in Seguin before capturing a 5-4 comeback win over 28th-ranked Trinity University on Monday. With the wins, Gustavus improves to 10-1 on the season.
Gustavus 8, Texas Lutheran 1
The Gusties opened its short Texas tour with an 8-1 win over Texas Lutheran on Sunday, March 30th. Gustavus opened with a clean sweep in doubles, winning 8-2 at No. 1 and No. 3, and 8-3 at No. 2.
The Gustie women then took five of the six singles matches, four of which were straight-set wins. Of those four wins, Sidney Dirks (So., St. Peter, Minn.), Lizzy Stanczyk (Fy., Plymouth, Wis.), Calleigh Carlson (Fy., St. Peter, Minn.), and Samantha Silcox (So., Mountain Iron, Minn.) combined to surrender just nine games in a total of 57 games played. Texas Lutheran’s lone point came at first singles thanks to a 6-2, 6-0 win for Sofia Vega.
Gustavus 5, Trinity 4
Gustavus capped off its pair of matches in Texas with a dramatic 5-4 come-from-behind win over No. 28 Trinity University on Monday. The two teams went back-and-forth through the doubles competition. The Tigers opened the contest with a win at third doubles before the Gusties came back to register points at the first and second positions and take a 2-1 lead headed to singles.
Trinity then took each of the first three singles matches at No. 3, No. 4, and No. 6 in straight sets to take a 4-2 lead. At the time, Gustavus trailed in the third set of all three remaining singles matches and it looked as though Trinity would cruise to the victory. But the Gusties refused to fold.
Lizzy Stanczyk sparked the comeback at fifth singles, rolling 6-2 in the final set to bring her team back to within one (4-3). Michaela Schulz (Fy., Elk River, Minn.) fed off her teammate’s resilience and came back to take her final set 6-4 over Kylie Hornbeck at first singles and tie the score 4-4. It all came down to second singles and junior Laurel Krebsbach (North Oaks, Minn.). Krebsbach delivered with a 6-4 win in the third set, coming from behind to ensure the win for the Gusties.
“It was a huge win for us,” remarked an excited head coach Jon Carlson. “The girls showed a ton of toughness to pull out the win. The way they battled to the end and played with confidence was inspiring, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
The Gusties will be back in action again next weekend when they travel to Madison, Wis., to compete in the Midwest Invitational.