CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Facing a familiar foe in Middlebury College’s top duo of Lubomir Cuba and William de Quant in the 2017 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Doubles Tournament, the Gustavus pair of Mohanad Alhouni (Jr., Tripoli, Libya) and Patrick Whaling (So., Manikob Sabot, Va.) ended their season with a 3-6, 6-7 loss on Friday afternoon.
Two times before the Gusties had faced Middlebury, most recently in the team quarterfinal match in which Gustavus fell 5-1 while the Panthers’ Cuba/de Quant defeated the Gustavus top doubles duo 8-6 and 9-7.
Alhouni and Whaling advanced to the quarterfinals with a first round 6-3, 6-2 win over Joey Dulle and Jake Ly of the University of Redlands yesterday.
Looking for avenge the previous losses, Alhouni and Whaling went down 6-3 in the first set before surging back in the second to force a tiebreaker with the score at 6-6. The Panthers would prevail with a 7-6 (6-4) win. The Gusties’ No. 1 doubles duo of Alhouni/Whaling finish their season with an overall doubles record of 22-10.
“Mohanad and Patrick played at a very high level today,” said Head Coach Tommy Valentini. “They stayed the course and showed great resolve to break back late in the second set and gave themselves a good look at getting to the third. It wasn’t to be today, but they made great progress this year and competed well in the NCAA tournament. We’re honored to have them join other great Gustavus All-American doubles teams, and hope their finish will serve as positive motivation for them and our whole group heading into next season.”