The No. 5 ranked Gustavus Adolphus College men’s tennis team swept all six singles matches en route to a 7-2 win over No. 22 Pomona-Pitzer Monday afternoon in Claremont, Calif. The Gusties overcame a 2-1 deficit following doubles play.
The Sagehens (8-9) took the early lead, picking up wins at No. and No. 2 doubles. The No. 1 doubles team of Jeff Jablonski and Neil Patel defeated the top Gustie tandem of Jesse Brauer (Sr., Mankato, Minn./West) and Andy Bryan (Jr., Edina, Minn.) 8-6, while Erin Noble and Blake Phillips downed Mike Burdakin and Charlie Paukert by the same 8-6 score. Gustavus picked up the win in the final doubles match as Ben Tomasek (So., Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul) and Nick Hansen (So., Duluth, Minn./East) topped Don Richards and Drew Olian 8-6 at No. 3 doubles.
Gustavus righted itself during singles play, though, sweeping through doubles play without dropping a set. Bryan defeated Jablonski 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 singles, Brauer topped Noble 6-3, 7-5 at the No. 2 spot, and John Kauss (So., St. Paul, Minn./Harding) eased past Patel 6-2, 6-0 at the No. 3 position. Burdakin downed Phillips 6-0, 6-2 at No. 4, Paukert topped Cameron Taylor 7-5, 6-1 at No. 5, and Tomasek defeated Richards 6-1, 6-2 at No. 6.
The Gusties (17-6) will face NAIA No. 4 Fresno Pacific University Tuesday in Claremont. Gustavus will travel to Redlands Wednesday to face 12th ranked University of Redlands before closing out its Spring Break trip Thursday with a dual at Azusa Pacific University. APU is rated second in the NAIA rankings.