The Gustavus women’s team earned a berth into the NCAA Team Finals with a 5-0 victory over UW-Whitewater in the NCAA Midwest Region Final on Saturday afternoon in St. Peter, Minn. The Gusties won the Region Championship for the 10th consecutive year, as they are currently on a 16-game winning streak. The NCAA Division III Team Quarterfinals will be held at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia on May 25-27.
Gustavus won all three matches in the doubles competition, going up 3-0, before getting wins in #5 and #3 singles for the 5-0 decision. Gustavus improves to 33-10 overall, while UW-Whitewater finishes the season with a 23-6 overall record.
In the doubles competition, Megan Gaard and Marianne Barau got the Gusties out to a 1-0 lead after cruising to a 8-0 victory over Ingrid Stensvaag and Sydney Divelbiss in #2 doubles. Ali O’Neal and Maria Bryan then defeated Kelly Rutkowski and Amy Siemon 8-5 at #3 doubles to give Gustavus a 2-0 advantage. Sierra Krebsbach and Sam Frank completed the sweep in doubles by defeating Kalla Schaefer and Annie Smith 8-4 at #1 doubles, putting the Gusties on top 3-0 heading into singles play.
In the singles competition, O’Neal defeated Lauren Aguilar 6-1, 6-2 at #5 singles to put Gustavus up 4-0. Barau then topped Siemon at #3 singles 6-1, 6-2 to give the Gusties the 5-0 decision.
The quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Tournament will begin on Tuesday, May 25, in Fredericksburg, Virginia.