SAINT PETER, MINN. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s tennis team went 2-1 in a Saturday tripleheader, including a critical MIAC victory over St. Catherine University in matches played at the Swanson Tennis Center. Gustavus defeated Hamline University 9-0 and St. Catherine 7-2 and fell to Morningside College 5-4 to move its record to 4-0 in the MIAC and 5-9 overall.
“Today means a lot to our entire team,” said junior Sidney Dirks (St. Peter, Minn.). “Watching the team compete today was so much fun. It was inspiring all around.”
Gustavus began its morning with a 9-0 sweep of Hamline University in which it did not drop a set. The doubles tandem of Michaela Schulz (So., Elk River, Minn.)/Lizzy Stanczyk (Jr., Plymouth, Wis.) earned an 8-0 shutout at the second position, while Schulz, Stanczyk and first-year Katie Aney (Rochester, Minn.) each picked up 6-0, 6-0 wins at No. 1, 3 and 4 singles, respectively.
Gustavus then faced a tall task in St. Catherine, a team that has beaten the Gusties in MIAC play in each of the last two seasons. After earning victories in two of three doubles matches, Gustavus picked up wins in five out of six singles matches to tally a 7-2 win and remain unbeaten in MIAC play.
“Losing to St. Kate’s the last few years definitely lit a flame under us,” said Dirks. “We’ve worked hard to be where we are and there is no doubt in my mind that we will continue to work hard and become even better.”
Aney and partner Cal Carlson (So., St. Peter, Minn.) got the Gusties going with a quick 8-2 win at No. 3 doubles before Schulz/Stanczyk pulled out an 8-4 win at the second spot. Dirks and partner Laurel Krebsbach (Sr., North Oaks, Minn.) nearly made a come-from-behind effort at No. 1, but eventually fell 8-6 to put Gustavus ahead 2-1 going into singles play.
There, the Gusties overwhelmed the Wildcats with five additional wins, including straight set victories for Schulz at No. 1, Krebsbach at No. 2, Dirks at No. 4, a 6-1, 6-3 match-clinching win for Aney at No. 5 who was playing in her first match action of the year after finishing her season with the Gustavus women’s hockey team, and Ally Baker (Fy., Rosemount, Minn.) at No. 6.
“The team we have this year is something special,” said Dirks. “Each girl on the team adds something unique and the bond be have as a team to become the best we can be is going to make us a tough team to beat this year. Each girl is out there for the teammate next to them and is giving 100 percent of their effort.”
Later in the evening, Gustavus took on NAIA member Morningside College and was narrowly defeated by a 5-4 margin. After falling behind 2-1 after doubles play, Laura Martin (Fy., Plymouth, Minn.), Taylor Shortly (Fy., Lindstrom Minn.) and Baker each picked up singles victories to help bring the score to 4-4, which left Aney and Morningside’s Katie Hanson at No. 1 singles to decide the match. Aney found herself down a set and 6-5 in the second, but managed to come back to force a third-set tiebreaker. There, Aney got as close as 6-5, but ended up falling to Hanson, a St. Peter native, 10-5 after a grueling day in which she played five total matches.
“To keep rolling, we need to stay focused and take it one match at a time,” said Dirks. “We can’t look ahead, we just need to zone in on each point in each match and keep working hard.”
Gustavus will be back in action next Saturday with non-conference matches against St. Scholastica at 9 a.m. and Minnesota State University, Mankato at 6:30 p.m. at the Swanson Tennis Center.
Gustavus 9 def. Hamline 0 (Box) | Gustavus 7 def. St. Catherine 2 | Morningside 5 def. Gustavus 4