Amrik Donkena
The Gustavus men’s tennis team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Regional with a 5-0 win over Concordia University of Mequon, Wisconsin on a cold and blustery Friday afternoon in St. Peter, Minn. The Gusties will now face Trinity University of San Antonio, Texas on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 pm. The six-team NCAA Regional is being hosted by Gustavus at the Brown Outdoor Courts and the Swanson Indoor Tennis Center.
Gustavus jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead with convincing wins in doubles play. Amrik Donkena and Patrick Clark defeated Brian Tresedder and Russell Johnson 8-1 at the #1 position, while Tyler Johnson and Joe MacGibbon defeated Skip Turner and Pat Schramka 8-2 at the #2 position. Marcel Gyswyt and Juan Luis Chu completed the sweep at the #3 position as they knocked off Taylor Shaffer and Nathan Hoeppner 8-0.
In singles play, the Gusties closed out the match with wins at #6 by Joe MacGibbon and #4 by Tyler Johnson. MacGibbon topped Hoeppner 6-0, 6-1 and Johnson defeated Skip Turner 6-1, 6-1. Gustavus was leading in all four of the other singles matches when play was stopped once the Gusties had clinched the match with five points.
In Saturday’s second round of action, Chicago University will face Grinnell College (which defeated UW-Eau Claire 5-3 in the other first round match) on at 10:30 am followed by the Gustavus vs. Trinity match at 2:30.
The winners of Saturday’s matches will play on Sunday at noon with the winner earning a spot in the NCAA Team Finals to be held at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in Claremont, Calif. on May 24-26.