CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Gustavus men’s tennis team split its first day of matches in the Stag-Hen Invite on Friday. With the 5-4 win over Amherst and 2-7 loss to No. 4 CMS, the team moves to 9-5 on the season.
“We had a great first day at the Stag-Hen,” said Head Coach Tommy Valentini. “It’s a special tourney to play, and one of the toughest days in college tennis. our guys embraced the challenge well today from start to finish. We had good energy in the doubles against CMS, and we competed hard in the singles as well. For Nicky to defeat an opponent of that experience and quality at #2 gave our group some belief.”
The Gusties started the day with a loss to No. 4 ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 2-7. Aney battled back to win in a third set for the lone Gustavus singles win. Neel and Sivero finished strong to take a victory in doubles.
Singles
| 1. Robert Liu (CMS) def. Indraneel Raut (Sr., Oshkosh Wis.) (GAC) 6-2, 6-2 |
| 2. Nick Aney (Sr., Rochester (GAC) def. Jack Katzman (CMS) 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-4) |
| 3. Christopher Li (CMS) def. Daniel Fouchier (Nootdorp, Netherlands) (GAC) 6-3, 6-1 |
| 4. Ethan Carroll (CMS) def. Alex Budde (Jr., Menomonee Falls, Wis.) (GAC) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 |
| 5. Michael Hao (CMS) def. Marco Siviero (Fy., Sao Miguel de Oeste, Brazil) (GAC) 6-4, 6-3 |
| 6. Ian Habbestad (CMS) def. Rafael Costa (Fy., Sao Paulo, Brazil) (GAC) 6-4, 6-2 |
Doubles:
| 1. Jack Katzman/Robert Liu (CMS) def. Nicholas Aney/Alex Budde (GAC) 8-6 |
| 2. Philip Martin/Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. Daniel Fouchier/Sourabh Terakanambi (Jr., Apple Valley) (GAC) 8-3 |
| 3. Indraneel Raut/Marco Siviero (GAC) def. Ethan Carroll/Christopher Li (CMS) 8-6 |
The Gusties came back in their second match of the day, defeating Amherst 5-4. Gustavus had success in their doubles matches but battled through adversities in singles.
“Against Amherst, we put together a fantastic effort. It took everyone sticking together to get over the line. Nick and Alex played a solid match to get us on the board and Daniel and Sourabh played a bold and aggressive tiebreaker to get us the 2-1 lead. Rafa and Daniel played fantastic singles matches and stayed present and focused to get us to 4. From there, it went down to the wire and Marco held his nerve, enjoyed the moment and was able to come through 7-5 in the third. We know the line between winning and losing is often a fine one. We’re thankful that the result went our way tonight. It was a fun and special one for our entire group. We’ll look to recover well and to be ready to enjoy another big challenge tomorrow morning.”
Singles
| 1. Damien Ruparel (AC) def. Indraneel Raut (GAC) 6-0, 6-7 |
| 2. Harris Foulkes (AC) def. Nicholas Aney (GAC) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 |
| 3. Daniel Fouchier (GAC) def. Sujit Chepuri (AC) 6-1, 6-2 |
| 4. Ed Opie (AC) def. Alex Budde (GAC) 6-4, 7-6 |
| 5. Marco Siviero (GAC) def. Willie Turchetta (AC) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 |
| 6. Rafael Costa (GAC) def. Shaw Rhinelander (AC) 6-4, 6-2 |
Doubles:
| 1. Nicholas Aney/Alex Budde (GAC) def. Damien Ruparel/Sujit Chepuri (AC) 8-6 |
| 2. Daniel Fouchier/Sourabh Terakanambi (GAC) def. Ed Opie/Harris Foulkes (AC) 8-7 |
| 3. Kobe Ellenbogen/Micah Elias (AC) def. Indraneel Raut/Marco Siviero (GAC) 8-6 |
The Gusties will next face Bowdoin on Saturday.