WHITEWATER, Wis. – The Gustavus Adolphus College women’s tennis team was victorious in its first round of the NCAA Championships, taking a 5-1 victory over Wheaton College on Thursday afternoon on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. With the win, the Gusties advance to the second round of the national tournament tomorrow against No. 9 University of Chicago at 1 p.m.
“This was a great day for Gustavus women’s tennis,” said Coach Jon Carlson. “The team played extremely well against a very good Wheaton team and fought hard for every single point until the match was over. The women are playing with such intensity and focus that I’m proud of them win or lose. The biggest benefit of winning is that I get to watch them play at that level for another match.”
For the fourth match in a row, Gustavus came out of the gates with a doubles sweep, as the pairings of Michaela Schulz/Lizzy Stanczyk, Ally Baker/Briana Hartmann, and Katie Aney/Sid Dirks earned 8-5, 8-4, and 8-3 wins at the No. 1, 2 and 3 positions, respectively.
In singles, Baker continued her stellar play of late, using a first set comeback to propel her to a 7-5, 6-2 win at the fourth singles position, giving the Black and Gold a 4-0 lead. Stanczyk then fell in a hard-fought battle at the No. 2 spot 7-5, 6-3, but Aney secured the Gustie victory with a 6-0, 1-6, 6-4 win at the sixth position. Aney was down 4-0 in the third set before rattling of six straight games to clinch the match.
Tomorrow’s match with the ninth-ranked Maroons is slated for 1 p.m. at UW-Whitewater. In the event of rain, the match will be played at Premier Tennis and Fitness in Janesville, Wis. Live results will be provided, and additional information can be found on the tournament website.