CLEVELAND, Ohio – For the second consecutive season the Gustavus men’s tennis team captured the consolation title at the ITA Indoor Championship. The No. 8 Gusties defeated host No. 18 Case Western Reserve 5-0 on Sunday morning for fifth place. The Gusties are now 6-2 overall.
“The guys were phenomenal today,” Head Coach Tommy Valentini said. “We played a tough team coming off a big win in their place with a raucous home crowd. Our guys stayed composed and stuck together and stuck to our game plan from the start. Patrick and Chase capped off an outstanding weekend to get us rolling at one doubles, and Aney and Derbani were extremely solid again at number two. We got a huge performance from O’Neil and Sanga at number three. They handled the tight moments with incredible poise to get us the doubles sweep and some great momentum. From there we came out with great energy and a commitment to being present in the singles. Patrick Whaling was absolutely brilliant at the top spot. His composure set the tone for the entire team, and it was huge for him to get us to four points. Nick Aney was bold, positive, and aggressive all day and it paid off in the back end of his second set as he got the clinch for us with a very clutch performance.”
Singles
- Patrick Whaling (GACM) def. Chen, Matthew (CWR-M) 6-2, 6-2
- Kanam, Anthony (CWR-M) vs. Chase Johnson (GACM) 4-6, 4-1, unfinished
- Umen, Aaron (CWR-M) vs. Yassine Derbani (GACM) 6-7, 4-5, unfinished
- Vicario, Max (CWR-M) vs. Michael O’Neil (GACM) 7-6, 1-2, unfinished
- Nick Aney (GACM) def. Stroup, Rob (CWR-M) 6-3, 6-4
- Powell, Jonathan (CWR-M) vs. Indraneel Raut (GACM) 4-6, 6-1, unfinished
Doubles
- Chase Johnson/Patrick Whaling (GACM) def. Kanam, Anthony/Powell, Jonathan (CWR-M) 8-2
- Yassine Derbani/Nick Aney (GACM) def. Hennessey, Zach/Chen, Matthew (CWR-M) 8-2
- Michael O’Neil/Xavier Sanga (GACM) def. Umen, Aaron/Aduru, Chaitanya (CWR-M) 8-6
“Overall, the guys focused on what was within our control all day, and we’re grateful that the result went our way in the end,” Valentini said. “It was a great challenge for our group today and we made very good progress as a team. We’re thankful for a great national indoor tournament and we look forward to continuing to improve from here.”
The Gusties return home Saturday as they host St. Olaf and Hamline starting at 9:30 a.m.