Wangerin Courts on the campus of UW-Whitewater. Photo courtesy of Tom Fick - UW-Whitewater Sports Information Director.
St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s tennis team is set to face the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament on Saturday, May 11 at 12:00 p.m. Gustavus, who received the No. 2 seed in the Whitewater, Wis. regional, earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament by way of an 8-1 victory over Carleton in the MIAC Playoff Championship last Saturday.
Action at the Whitewater region will begin on Friday, May 10 with Ohio Northern (18-4) taking on Concordia University (16-9) at 1:00 p.m. The winner of that match will face the No. 1 seeded Trinity University (18-9) at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two second round winners will advance to the region final set to begin at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 12.
This will be the second straight year that Gustavus and UW-Whitewater have met in the NCAA Tournament, as last season’s regional was also held at Wangerin Courts on the campus of UW-Whitewater. The Gusties went on to advance to the third round with a 5-0 win over the Warhawks. The two teams met earlier this season on March 9 in St. Peter. Gustavus took two of three points in doubles before earning four more points in singles on the way to a 6-3 win.
With an overall record of 22-9, Gustavus is making its 26th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Gusties have compiled an all-time record of 45-30 in NCAA Tournament play.
Head Coach Tommy Valentini, who holds a record of 2-2 in the NCAA Tournament, will likely go with the same lineup that won a third straight MIAC Playoff title last weekend. Pairing up in doubles will be Amrik Donkena (Sr., Rochester, Minn.) and Mya Smith-Dennis (Jr., Savage, Minn.), Grant Johnson (Sr., West Bend, Wis.) and Grant Leisner (Jr., Andover, Minn.), and Brad Entwistle (So., Sioux Falls, S.D.) and Joey MacGibbon (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.).
Donkena and Smith-Dennis are ranked second in the central region with an overall record of 18-8. Johnson and Leisner have reached the 20-win mark and come in with a record of 21-9, while Entwistle and MacGibbon are 11-8.
In singles play, Donkena, Smith-Dennis, Leisner, Juan Luis Chu (Jr., Lima, Peru), MacGibbon, and Entwistle are the probable starters in Valentini’s top six. Donkena and Smith-Dennis are both ranked in the central at No. 8 and No. 9, respectively. Amrik is 12-10 overall, and Mya holds a record of 19-12. Rounding out the remainder of the lineup, Leisner is 15-10, Chu is 14-12, MacGibbon is 15-10, and Entwistle is 16-8.
The UW-Whitewater sports information department has set up a tournament website that features the tournament bracket, travel information, and links to live stats and match recaps. In the event of inclement weather, matches will be moved to the Four Lake Athletic Club located in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.