The Gustavus Adolphus men’s tennis team captured the MIAC Men’s Tennis Tournament title and a bid to the NCAA Championships.
Andy Bryan posted four wins (two singles, two doubles) on the day.
Senior Jesse Brauer also went 4-for-4 on the day in team wins over Concordia and Carleton.
Concordia Box Score
Carleton Box Score
The Gustavus Adolphus College men’s tennis team posted wins over Concordia (9-0) and Carleton (6-3) Saturday in St. Peter to capture the MIAC Tournament title and lock down one of 41 spots in the 2007 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championships. Selections for this year’s national meet will be disclosed Monday, April 30.
Semifinal – Gustavus Adolphus 9, Concordia 0
Gustavus posted a 9-0 win over Concordia in Saturday morning’s semifinal match. The Gusties swept through doubles with an 8-2 win by Jesse Brauer (Sr., Mankato, Minn./West) and Andy Bryan (Jr., Edina, Minn.) over Jordy Kamerling and Paul Tuchscherer at No. 1 and 8-1 wins by Mike Burdakin (So., Bettendorf, Iowa) and Charlie Paukert (So., Grand Forks, N.D./Central) at No. 2 and Ben Tomasek (So., Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul) and Nick Hansen (So., Duluth, Minn./East) at No. 3.
In singles play, Brauer, John Kauss (So., St. Paul, Minn./Harding), Burdakin, Paukert, and Danny Suchy (Sr., La Crosse, Wis./Central) combined to drop only seven games while picking up sweeps at positions 2-6. At No. 1 singles, Bryan battled back after dropping the first set to defeat Kamerling 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-3) to complete the Gustavus sweep and send the team to the MIAC Tournment final against Carleton.
Final – Gustavus Adolphus 6, Carleton 3
The Gusties secured the MIAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 6-3 win over Carleton in the Saturday afternoon tournament final. Gustavus led 2-1 after doubles play behind wins at No. 1 from Jesse Brauer and Andy Bryan and at No. 3 from Ben Tomasek and Nick Hansen. The Knights took the match at No. 2 doubles as Winston Park and Colin Russell topped Mike Burdakin and Charlie Paukert 8-3.
Gustavus put the match out of reach and secured the dual victory with wins in four of the six singles matches. Bryan topped Kartheek Koneru 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1, Brauer downed Park 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2, Burdakin defeated Brendan Cooper 6-2, 6-0 at No. 4 and Paukert bested Peter Varnum 6-1, 6-3 at No. 5. Carleton tightened up the match with wins in the final two singles matches. Julian Tokarev defeated Suchy 6-3, 6-1 at No. 6 and Russell survived a three-set match with John Kauss 6-1, 1-6, 1-0 (10-3).
Already assured of a spot in the field of 41, Gustavus must wait until Monday, April 30 for the complete draw to be announced. First, second, and third round matches will be held at on-campus sites May 4-6. The eight remaining teams will advance to the Championship Round May 15-17 at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in suburban St. Louis, Mo. Washington University of St. Louis is this year’s host. Individual competition in singles and doubles will be contested at the same site May 18-20.