ST. PETER, Minn. – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released its Division III national rankings Thursday and the Gustavus men’s tennis team has jumped from No. 8 to No. 6, marking the highest national ranking by the Gusties since 2007 when they were No. 5.
The Gusties also leap-frogged Chicago as the No. 1 team in the Central Region. Mohanad Alhouni (Sr., Tripoli, Libya) remains the top-ranked singles player in the nation, while in the regional rankings, Zach Ekstein (Sr., Eagan, Minn.) is No. 9 and Patrick Whaling (Jr., Manikin Sabot, Va.) is No. 17. The doubles team of Alhouni and Whaling is No. 1 in the region, while Chase Johnson (Jr., Golden Valley, Minn.) and Tommy Entwistle (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) are ranked No. 14.
The last two matches for the Gusties were significant victories as they upset then-No. 3 ranked Chicago on April 13 and followed with their 300th consecutive MIAC regular season win on Saturday against Carleton.
Gustavus has a busy weekend ahead as it will play four matches against conference opponents over three days to wrap up the regular season. The Gusties are on the road tomorrow, taking on Macalester and Hamline, both at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Black and Gold hosts St. Thomas at 1 p.m. and then on Sunday the squad travels to Saint John’s for a 1 p.m. match.
The Gusties begin MIAC playoffs at 3:30 p.m. Friday, May 4. The conference championship match is 1 p.m. Sunday, May 6.