Alex Erickson sets up to rip a backhand.
With a 9-0 win over St. Olaf on Tuesday afternoon at the Brown Outdoor Tennis Complex in St. Peter, Minn., the Gustavus women’s tennis team secured its 20th consecutive MIAC regular season title. The Gusties, who are currently enjoying a seven-match win-streak, finish the regular season undefeated in MIAC play with a record of 10-0. Gustavus has now won 205 straight regular season conference matches, a streak that dates back to the 1991 season. Head Coach Jon Carlson’s squad takes an overall record of 17-9 into the MIAC Playoffs being held in St. Peter this weekend, May 6-7.
With the loss, St. Olaf moves to 12-4 overall and 8-2 in the MIAC. The Oles earn the #3 seed in the MIAC Playoffs and will face #6 seed St. Catherine in the quarterfinals on Friday, May 6 at 3:00 p.m.
In the doubles competition, Sam Frank and Megan Gaard defeated Abigail Ho and Christine Muller 8-3 at #1 doubles, Alex Erickson and Marianne Barau beat Caitlin Harper and Claire Carlson 8-1 at #2, and Megan Born and Mary Roop topped Julia Ellis and Sarah Magnuson 8-3 at #3.
The Gusties went on to sweep the singles competition with their #1-6 singles players winning in straight sets. Alex Erickson notched her 20th win of the season with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Ellis at #4 singles. Gustavus finishes the regular season with three players with 20 or more wins, including Frank (23-8), Barau (22-4), and Erickson (20-8).
The other quarterfinal match taking place on Friday at 3:00 p.m. will feature #4 seed Saint Benedict taking on #5 seed St. Thomas. Gustavus will play the lowest remaining seed on Saturday, May 7 at 11:30 a.m., and #2 seed Carleton will take on the second lowest remaining seed at the same time. The championship match is set to take place Saturday at 4:00 p.m.