The Gustavus Adolphus College men’s tennis team was shut out by NAIA No. 4 Fresno Pacific University 9-0 Tuesday in Claremont, California. Fresno Pacific took the lead following doubles play as Matt Carroll and Anthony Zafiris defeated Andy Bryan (Jr., Edina, Minn.) and Jesse Brauer (Sr., Mankato, Minn./West) 8-4 at No. 1 singles. The Sunbirds closed out doubles play with a pair of close victories. Marco Foelz and Victor Medina edged Ben Tomasek (So., Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul) and Nick Hansen (So., Duluth, Minn./East) 9-7 at the No. 2 spot and Roberto Bianco and Louis Taylor bested Mike Burdakin (So., Bettendorf, Iowa) and Charlie Paukert (So., Grand Forks, N.D.) 8-6 at the No. 3 position.
The Sunbirds completed the sweep without dropping a set in singles play. Carroll topped Bryan 6-3, 6-2 at No. 1, Zafiris downed Brauer 6-4, 6-3 at No.2, and Foels stopped John Kauss (So., St. Paul, Minn./Harding) 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3. Bianco defeated Burdakin 6-2, 6-4 at No. 4, Taylor downed Paukert 6-4, 6-0 at No. 5, and Medina closed out the dual with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Tomasek at No. 6 singles.
The last time the Gusties were held without a match win in a dual was April 9, 2004 when Azusa Pacific defeated Gustavus 9-0 in Azusa, California. The Gusties were shut out by Middlebury 4-0 in the NCAA Division III semifinals last May, but captured one of three doubles matches in the process.
The Gusties (17-7), rated fifth in NCAA Division III, continue their Spring Break trip Wednesday with a dual at the University of Redlands. Redlands is currently ranked 12th in Division III.