Gustavus men’s tennis player John Kauss (Sr., St. Paul, Minn./Harding) defeated Chris Goodwin of Emory University 6-2, 6-3 to claim the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III Singles Championship on Saturday morning in Mobile, Alabama. Kauss is the first Gustavus men’s tennis player to win the ITA Division III national singles title. As the fourth-seed, Kauss upset defending champion and top-seed John Watts of Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri) 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals and did not drop a single set during the tournament.
Kauss advanced to the ITA Small College “Super Bowl,” which features the singles champion from the ITA Division II, III, NAIA, and Junior College tournaments. In the first round of the Super Bowl, Kauss fell to Fabio Silva of Fresno Pacific, the NAIA champion, 6-1, 6-1 to finish the tournament.
Kauss joins former Gustavus men’s tennis players, Kevin Whipple and Eric Butorac, as the only Midwest Region players to claim ITA Division III national titles. Whipple and Butorac won back-to-back doubles titles in 2001 and 2002.