Five Gusties Named Women’s Tennis All-Conference, Carlson Earns Co-Coach Of The Year

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced its women’s tennis postseason awards Tuesday and five Gusties were recognized as All-Conference members, while Head Coach Jon Carlson has been selected as the Co-Coach of the Year.

Katie Aney (Sr., Rochester, Minn.), Ally Baker (Sr., Rosemount, Minn.), Briana Hartmann (Jr., Owatonna, Minn.), Lily Hartman (Jr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa), and Ginger Valentine (Fy., Delano, Minn.) were each named to the All-Conference singles team, while Aney, Baker, B. Hartmann, and L. Hartman were also All-Conference doubles team honorees.

Carlson, along with Drew Fernelius of Bethel University were named Co-Coaches of the Year. In his 28th season at the helm of the Gustie Women’s Tennis program, Carlson guided the Black and Gold to a 10-0 finish in the MIAC while capturing the 29th regular season title in Gustavus history. The honor stands as Carlson’s ninth Coach of the Year accolade as he previously received recognition in 1994, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, and 2015. 

Aney earns her second consecutive spot on both the singles and doubles team, finishing the regular season with a 19-6 singles record and 17-9 doubles record while going unbeaten during conference action in both. Primarily playing at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles positions, Aney closed out the regular season with 14 consecutive singles victories as she was named Gustavus Athlete of the Month in April. She was also selected as the MIAC Athlete of the Week April 10 while going 3-0 at the Midwest Invite April 6-7, highlighted by earning the team’s sole point against the University of Chicago, winning 6-0, 6-3 at No. 3 singles.

Earning her third-straight All-Conference honor, Baker shared time at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles positions while competing at No. 1 doubles with Bri Hartmann. Finishing the regular season with 13-7 (8-1 MIAC) singles and 14-7 (9-0 MIAC) doubles records, Baker recorded her second career MIAC Athlete of the Week accolade on May 1 after going 8-0 through the four matches of the regular season, including four victories at No. 1 doubles. Baker was also a member of All-Sportsmanship Team. 

B. Hartmann also makes her third consecutive appearance on the All-MIAC team with a 22-8 overall singles record (8-0 MIAC) and 17-10 mark in doubles (9-0 MIAC) in the regular season while holding down the No. 1 singles and doubles spot. The 2017 ITA Midwest Regional singles champion earned her first career MIAC Athlete of the Week award April 24 while going unbeaten April 20-22, helping the Gusties hand St. Thomas and Carleton their first MIAC losses of the season. 

Earning her first All-Conference singles and doubles honors, L. Hartman finished the regular season with an 11-6 (10-0 MIAC) singles record and 13-5 (8-2 MIAC) doubles record. Competing primarily at the No. 5 singles and No. 2 doubles positions, Hartman closed out the regular season with seven consecutive singles victories.

Valentine, one of three first-years on the All-Conference singles team, played mostly at No. 4 singles for the Gusties and was undefeated during conference play at 10-0 while going 18-8 overall. Valentine finished the regular season with seven singles wins in a row and was also named MIAC Athlete of the Week March 13 after winning all four of her matches against Augustana College and UW-Whitewater on March 10.