SAINT PETER, Minn. – Tennis players Patrick Whaling (Sr., Manakin Sabot, Va.), Chase Johnson (Sr., Golden Valley, Minn.), and Ginger Valentine (So., Delano, Minn.) have been named Gustavus September Co-Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Month, which is voted on by the Gustavus Sports Information Department and presented by Thrivent Financial.
Ginger Valentine
Women’s Tennis
Hometown: Delano, Minn.
Major: Psychology
Parents: Linda Valentine and Dan Brown
Ginger Valentine had a spectacular start to her sophomore campaign during the month of September, winning both the Gustavus Fall Invitational and ITA Midwest Regional singles titles in consecutive weekends. Valentine won the Gustie Invite with three wins, the last coming over teammate Bri Hartmann. She then won all six of her matches at the ITA regional to claim All-America honors. In the semifinals, Valentine upset the tournament’s top seed Gabi Kitchell of UW-Whitewater in three sets and then claimed the championship with a decisive 6-0, 6-4 win over Ali Kopiecki of Hamline. In doubles action, Valentine went 1-1 at the Gustie Invite and 2-1 at the ITA regional. Her and partner Sheila Sullivan lost in the round of 16 to eventual champions Grace and Maggie Riermann of Bethel.
Chase Johnson | Patrick Whaling
Men’s Tennis
Hometown: Golden Valley, Minn. | Hometown: Manakin Sabot, Va.
Major: Statistics | Major: Management
Parents: Dan and Julie Johnson | Parents: Marsh and Jane Whaling
In their first time playing together as doubles partners, Chase Johnson and Patrick Whaling made a statement to start the season by winning the Drake Invite “A” draw with four victories against Division I and II competition. That served as a tune-up for the ITA Midwest Regional where they won all five of their matches en route to claiming the championship and All-America status. Johnson and Whaling did not allow their opponents to score more than four points in any of the first four matches, leading to the championship match against teammates Yassine Derbani and Nick Aney. Johnson and Whaling won the title 7-6, 6-2. In ITA singles play, both Johnson and Whaling advanced to the semifinals with four victories each.