NORTHFIELD, MINN. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s tennis team kept its perfect conference record and chance at an MIAC Championship alive on Saturday, as it was able to prevail and earn a 5-4 victory over Carleton College at the Bell Field Courts. With the score knotted at 4-4 and the entire match on the line, Gustie first-year Katie Aney (Rochester, Minn.) injected ice into her veins to earn a come-from-behind victory at No. 5 singles and clinch the match. The win helps Gustavus (ranked No. 11 in the Central Region) improve to 7-0 in MIAC play and 11-12 overall, while the Knights (ranked No. 8 in the Central Region) fall to 7-2 in the conference and 12-3 overall.
“This feels incredible…I’m still shaking,” said Aney nearly an hour after the conclusion of her mach. “Helping the team win this match was awesome…I know this match meant a lot to everyone and it was amazing how we were all able to come together and get it done. Huge credit needs to be given to every single one of my teammates who went out today and fought like crazy. It’s a great day to be a Gustie!”
Gustavus was able to win two-of-three doubles matches to take a 2-1 lead heading into singles play. The combos of Laurel Krebsbach (Sr., North Oaks, Minn.)/Sid Dirks (Jr., St. Peter, Minn.) and Lizzy Stanczyk (Jr., Plymouth, Wis.)/Michaela Schulz (So., Elk River, Minn.) took home decisive 8-2 and 8-4 wins at the No. 1 and 2 positions, respectively, before Aney and Ally Baker (Fy., Rosemount, Minn.) suffered a narrow 9-7 loss at the No. 3 spot.
In singles, Schulz and Krebsbach were able to earn their second wins of the day, as Schulz took down Kayla Becich 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1 and Krebsbach earned a 6-2, 6-2 win over Danielle Vasilev at No. 2. Baker fell to Caitlin Shea 6-2, 6-4 at No. 6, which left the score at 4-2 with three matches to play.
Stanczyk and Dirks kept their matches tight at the No. 3 and 4 singles positions, respectively, but both ended up on the short end, as Stanczyk suffered a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Joyce Yu at No. 3 and Dirks an identical 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Claire Spencer at No. 4 to knot the score at 4-4.
This left Aney and her opponent, Alana Danieu, as the last women on the court. Aney had dropped her first set 0-6, but was able to fight back in the second to earn a 7-6 (4) win and eventually clinched the match with a 10-8 super tiebreak victory.
“After losing the first set so handily, I told myself that I had more to give and that I wasn’t going to lose this match,” said Aney. “I went out in the second set with a positive, focused attitude and good things happened. It was also huge to have my teammates cheering and supporting me the whole time.”
The win moves Gustavus one step closer to an MIAC Championship. If the Gusties can defeat Concordia College (0-9 in the MIAC) tomorrow, it will compete against the University of St. Thomas (8-0 in the MIAC) for the conference championship next Saturday in St. Paul. Gustavus’s match with the Tommies will begin at 4 p.m. at St. Paul Academy.