Lauren Hom (left) and Marla Menne (right)
The Gustavus women’s doubles team of Lauren Hom (Jr., Stevens Point, Wis.) and Marla Menne (Sr., White Bear Lake, Minn.) picked up a pair of wins Friday afternoon en route to the NCAA Division III Women’s Doubles title at the ITA Small College Championships held at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida.
In the morning semifinal, the Gustie pair downed Tatiana Steinberg and Sandra Montez from the University of Redlands (Calif.) 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the final. Facing Hali Walther and Jenna Mezin of Wellesley for the championship, Hom and Menne came out a little slow, dropping the first set 3-6, but rebounded to win the next set, 6-1, and then the super tie-breaker, 10-4, for the championship. Hom and Menne are the second duo from Gustavus to win the ITA Division III Doubles title as Tracy Erickson and Lisa Broughten finished first in 1994.
Hom and Menne then advanced to the “Super Bowl” bracket of the ITA Championships where they fell to the doubles champions from the NAIA bracket, Kamila Dadakhodjaeva and Nadia Lysak of Auburn-Montgomery in a semifinal match. The Gustie duo took the first set, 6-3, but were unable to gain an advantage in the second set, falling by the identical score. Forced into a super tie-breaker, Hom and Menne were unable to gain any ground, falling 10-1.