The Gustavus Adolphus men’s tennis team closed out its run at the ITA Division III Men’s National Team Indoor Championships with a 6-3 loss to top-ranked Emory Sunday in the tournament’s third-place match.
Gustavus took a 3-0 lead after doubles as Jesse Brauer (Sr., Mankato, Minn./West) and Andy Bryan (Jr., Edina, Minn.) defeated Yoji Masuoka and Michael Goodwin 8-5 at No. 1 doubles, Mike Burdakin (So., Bettendorf, Iowa) and Charlie Paukert (So., Grand Forks, N.D.) defeated Hardy Ehlers and Michael Kaufman 8-5 at No. 2 doubles and Ben Tomasek (So., Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul) and Nick Hansen (So., Duluth, Minn./East) defeated Oliver Lopp and Mark Boren 9-8 (5) at No. 3 doubles.
The Eagles closed the gap to 3-2 with victories by Goodwin over Bryan (6-2, 6-4) at No. 1 singles and Boren over John Kauss (So., St. Paul, Minn./Harding) (6-1, 6-3) at No. 3 singles and then drew even as Masuoka defeated Brauer 6-4, 6-2 at the No. 2 position. Emory extended its lead and secured the victory with a 6-3, 6-2 win by Lopp over Paukert at No. 5 singles and a 6-0, 6-3 win by Kaufman over Chad Olson (Jr., Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) at No. 6 singles. The Gusties best chance to pick up a point in singles play came at the No. 4 position, the final match to be completed. Mike Burdakin took the first set from Hardy Ehlers 6-3, but dropped the second set 7-5 and the third 7-6 (8) to end the dual.
Gustavus will host duals with Augustana (S.D.) and UW-Whitewater Saturday, while also sending a team to face St. Thomas in a MIAC dual.