The Gustavus Adolphus College men’s tennis team advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championships Sunday with a 6-0 win over Wisconsin-Whitewater. The Gusties will face Williams (Mass.) Tuesday, May 15 at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in suburban St. Louis, Mo. Washington University in St. Louis is the host institution. Individual competition in singles and doubles will follow team competition at each site May 18-20.
Men’s Third Round (Sunday) – Gustavus Adolphus 6, Wisconsin-Whitewater 0
The Gustavus men swept through doubles, including a 9-7 win by Ben Tomasek and Nick Hansen over Johnny Reed and Erich Palacek at No. 3. Reed and Palacek led 7-6 before Tomasek and Hansen captured three straight games to close out the match. In singles play, the Gusties recieved straight-set wins at No. 2 from Jesse Brauer (6-1, 6-2 over Alex Lowe), at No. 3 from John Kauss (6-2, 6-2 over Steve Klaas), and at No. 5 from Charlie Paukert (6-4, 6-2 over Bill Stranberg) to clinch the match. Mike Burdakin and Danny Suchy had each taken the first set from their Warhawk opponents and were up in the second set at No. 4 and No. 6, respectively, when the match was halted. Andy Bryan and UWW’s Robin Borg had split the first two sets and were just starting the final set when the match was abandoned.
Men’s Second Round (Saturday) – Gustavus Adolphus 6, Luther 1
Gustavus Adolphus advanced to the third round with a 6-1 win over Luther that was closer that the final team score would seem to indicate. After picking up wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, the Gusties saw their team lead cut to 2-1 as Norse doubles tandem Utsab Rijal and Brad Nelson edged Mike Burdakin and Charlie Paukert 9-8 (7-4) to capture the second doubles match. Straight-set singles wins by Jesse Brauer at No. 2 and John Kauss at No. 3 gave Gustavus a 4-1 lead, but that lead was tenuous at best. Needing only one more match win to clinch, the Gusties dropped the first set in each of the other four singles matches. Playing in the comfy confines of the Swanson Tennis Center, Gustavus bounced back as Andy Bryan and Mike Burdakin captured three-set wins at No. 1 and No. 4 singles to allow the Gusties to move into Sunday’s regional final match.
2007 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship Web Site
Luther Box Score