The Gustavus Adolphus men’s tennis team capped off the weekend with pair of hard-fought losses at two different sites on Sunday, April 19. At the Four Lakes Athletic Club in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, the Gusties took on No. 13 University of Chicago and suffered a 5-4 loss. At the Swanson Tennis Center in St. Peter, Minnesota, the other half of the team faced St. Cloud State University and fell 5-4.
Gustavus heads into the final week of the regular season with a record of 14-10. The Gusties kick off the week inside MIAC play on Thursday with a home match against Saint John’s at 3:45 p.m.
Chicago 5 def. Gustavus 4
In its dual against Chicago, Gustavus took two points in doubles at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Motasem Al-Houni (Sr., Tripoli, Libya) and Andres Saenz (So., Cancun, Mexico) defeated Deepak Sabada and Ankur Bhargava 8-4, and Mohanad Al-Houni (Fr., Tripoli, Libya) and Brad Entwistle (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) cruised past Luke Tsai and Max Hawkins 8-1.
Despite dropping two points at the top two singles positions, the Maroons bounced back with wins at the No. 3 through No. 6 spots to earn the 5-4 victory. Mohanad Al-Houni beat Nicolas Chua 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 1, and Motasem Al-Houni topped Sven Kranz 7-5, 4-6, 10-5 at No. 2 for Gustavus’s two singles points.
St. Cloud State 5 def. Gustavus 4
Against St. Cloud State back on their home courts, the Gusties got one win in doubles courtesy of a Matt Baker (Sr., Rosemount, Minn.) and Matt Bettes (Sr., Burnsville, Minn.) 8-2 win over Victor Kasak and Pau Martin Sole at No. 2.
In singles, Bettes beat Joao Poli 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2, David Hagberg (So., Eden Prairie, Minn.) edged Pau Martin Sole 7-6, 6-7, 11-9 at No. 4, and Gabe Steinwand (Fr., Moorhead, Minn.) defeated Joao Victor Souto 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 at No. 5.