LAKELAND, WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The No. 16-ranked Gustavus men’s tennis team started its season with a win and a loss Wednesday as a split squad. The Gusties defeated Southeastern University of the NAIA 7-2 and fell to Division II Palm Beach Atlantic 6-3.
“It’s been a great start to our trip,” Head Coach Tommy Valentini said. “Coming off of some great practice sessions at the USTA National Campus, it was great to see some strong outside competition. The group that took on southeastern put together a great effort. Our three freshmen all competed well and got on the board in singles and doubles, and our upperclassmen showed great leadership and poise. Against PBA we competed hard and made some good progress in important areas. Our doubles executed our plans well for long stretches, and in singles we hung tough in some challenging situations. It was a good start for us, and we’ll look to recover quickly and be ready for more exciting challenges tomorrow.”
Singles
- Michael O’Neil (So., Edina, Minn.) (GAC) def. Lucca Marcheschi (SU) 6-3, 6-4
- Felipe Barbosa (SU) def. Gabe Steinwand (Sr., Moorhead, Minn.) (GAC) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
- Mason Bultje (Sr., Mankato, Minn.) (GAC) def. Thomas Ortega (SU) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
- Xavier Sanga (Fy., Madison, Wis.) (GAC) def. Pedro Bahnuik (SU) 6-3, 7-6 (1)
- Lawrence Hiquiana (Fy., Downers Grove, Ill.) (GAC) def. Matthew Scales 6-1, 6-0
- Mouaad Alhouni (Fy., Tripoli, Libya) (GAC) def. Luke Sauer (SU) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
- Marcheschi/Aaron Skingley (SU) def. Bultje/Steinwand (GAC) 8-4
- O’Neil/Sanga (GAC) def. Barbosa/Ortesa (SU) 8-1
- Hiquiana/Alhouni (GAC) def. Bahniak/Abe Rosenthall (SU) 8-4
Gustavus 3, Palm Beach Atlantic 6
Singles
- Mohanad Alhouni (Sr., Tripoli, Libya) (GAC) def. Pato Zarazua (PBA) 5-7, 6-4, 10-1
- Philipp Hoffmann (PBA) def. Patrick Whaling (Jr., Manikob Sabot, Va.) (GAC) 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
- Chase Johnson (Jr., Golden Valley, Minn.) (GAC) def. Bernardo Ferreira (PBA) 6-2, 6-2
- Rodolfo Hasegawa (PBA) def. Yassine Derbani (So., Casablanca, Morocco) (GAC) 6-2, 6-1
- Pietro de Silva (PBA) def. Tommy Entwistle (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) (GAC) 6-1, 6-1
- Carlos Niemeyer (PBA) def. Zeke Haugen (So., St. Peter, Minn.) (GAC) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
- Alhouni/Whaling (GAC) def. Ferreira/Hasegawa (PBA) 8-3
- Zarazua/de Silva (PBA) def. Entwistle/Johnson (GAC) 8-3
- Hoffmann/Niemeyer (PBA) def. Zach Ekstein (Sr., Eagan, Minn.)/Derbani (GAC) 8-6
The Gusties wrap up their Florida trip tomorrow with a noon match against Florida Tech followed by a 3 p.m. match against St. Leo, who is ranked No. 7 in Division II.