Men’s Tennis Claims 300th Consecutive MIAC Victory, Defeats Carleton 8-1

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ST. PETER, Minn. – For a tennis program with as rich of a history as Gustavus men’s tennis, it can be troubling at times to comprehend how remarkable its run in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has been. The No. 8-ranked Gusties on Saturday defeated No. 40-ranked Carleton 8-1 for their 300th consecutive MIAC regular season victory. The streak started in 1986 when Ronald Reagan held office and is 12 years older than the oldest student-athlete on the current roster.

“This group has accomplished a lot of neat milestones for our program and is certainly grateful to have contributed to this record that has been built by decades of great Gustavus teams and players, and Coach Wilkinson,” Head Coach Tommy Valentini said. “To be a part of that legacy means the world to our guys, and I’m proud of how well they represent our tradition and its values.”

The 300th straight win was accomplished with a sweep of doubles and five-of-six singles victories at the Swanson Tennis Center.

“The guys handled the moment well today,” Valentini said. “Carleton plays at a very high level in doubles and they compete well up and down their singles lineup. In doubles we executed our tactical plans well and believed in ourselves in the key moments. Zach Ekstein and Mason Bultje closing out their match at three doubles gave us the 3-0 lead and was a big lift for the guys. From there we showed good poise and stayed in the present throughout the singles. It was a very solid team effort today and we’re grateful to have e come out on the winning end. We will look to build on it as we continue with a number of challenges this coming week.”

Singles

1. Mohanad Alhouni (Sr., Tripoli, Libya) (GACM) def. Leo Vithoontien (CAR) 7-5, 6-1
2. Kevin Mei (CAR) def. Zach Ekstein (Sr., Eagan, Minn.) (GACM) 6-1, 6-2
3. Patrick Whaling (Jr., Manikin Sabot, Va.) (GACM) def. Jordon O’Kelly (CAR) 6-2, 6-1
4. Chase Johnson (Jr., Golden Valley, Minn.) (GACM) def. Andrew Qi (CAR) 6-2, 6-4
5. Yassine Derbani (So., Casablanca, Morocco) (GACM) def. Aaron Goodman (CAR) 7-5, 4-6, 10-5
6. Tommy Entwistle (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) (GACM) def. Sahil Chhugani (CAR) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles

1. Mohanad Alhouni/Patrick Whaling (GACM) def. Jordon O’Kelly/Leo Vithoontien (CAR) 8-3
2. Tommy Entwistle/Chase Johnson (GACM) def. Kevin Mei/Aaron Goodman (CAR) 8-3
3. Zach Ekstein/Mason Bultje (Sr., Mankato, Minn.) (GACM) def. Kevin Hurley/Xander Zuczek (CAR) 8-6

Gustavus next travels to Macalester on Friday.