SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s tennis team blanked Bethel 5-0 Thursday in a MIAC playoff semifinal match at the Brown Outdoor Courts. The Gusties, now 19-6 overall, advance to the MIAC playoff championship on Saturday where they will host Carleton at 11:30 a.m.
“Bethel came ready to play today and really put up a great fight, but these girls were not ready to have their season end,” Head Coach Jon Carlson said. “They battled hard and our wins in doubles were special. Our number three is a brand new team and they came through. Our number two team was down 4-6 and came back to win. And our number one, against the number one team in the region, beat them in a tiebreaker. That shows a passion that’s beyond their own individual accomplishments but rather playing for their teammates. The best part was everybody, almost to a fault, was asking me every time I’d go out to coach them in singles how everybody else was doing. They care about their teammates and they want to accomplish something cool together. They’re excited for Saturday and we’ll see how it goes.”
Playing in their first outdoor match of the season, the Gusties started the afternoon with a quick 8-2 win from the No. 3 doubles team of Rachel Lindrud (Sr., North Oaks) and Josie Carlson (Sr., Saint Peter). Trailing 6-4 late in the No. 2 doubles match, Anna Stutz (Sr., Dellwood) and Sydney Douglas (Sr., North Mankato) fought back with four unanswered points for an 8-6 win. And at the top spot, Simona Potockova (Sr., Nova’ Dubnica, Slovakia) and Yuki Oda (Jr., Kawasaki, Japan) upset the No. 1-ranked team in the Central Region with a tiebreaker score of 8-7 (8-6). Oda was the first singles finisher at No. 3 with a decisive 6-2, 6-0 win, quickly followed by a 6-1, 6-1 victory from Douglas at No. 4.
Singles
| 1. Simona Potockova (GACW) vs. Grace Riermann (BUW) 3-6, 0-4, unfinished |
| 2. Anna Stutz (GACW) vs. Sydney Rott (BUW) 6-3, 1-0, unfinished |
| 3. Yuki Oda (GACW) def. Elise Bierbaum (BUW) 6-2, 6-0 |
| 4. Sydney Douglas (GACW) def. Emma Thole (BUW) 6-1, 6-1 |
| 5. Alli Laux (GACW) vs. Rylee Schurman (BUW) 6-2, 1-2, unfinished |
| 6. Rachel Lindrud (GACW) vs. Ingrid Goldstrand (BUW) 4-6, 1-0, unfinished |
Doubles
| 1. Simona Potockova/Yuki Oda (GACW) def. Grace Riermann/Sydney Rott (BUW) 8-7 (8-6) |
| 2. Anna Stutz/Sydney Douglas (GACW) def. Rylee Schurman/Emma Thole (BUW) 8-6 |
| 3. Rachel Lindrud/Josie Carlson (GACW) def. Elise Bierbaum/Ingrid Goldstrand (BUW) 8-2 |