The Gustavus women’s tennis team won its 21st Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title Saturday with a 6-0 win over Carleton at the Swanson Tennis Center in St. Peter. Seniors Tara Houlihan and Lyndsey Palen teamed for a win at No. 1 doubles before recording wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively.
Houlihan (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) and Palen (Sr., Rochester, Minn.), the second-rated doubles team in the Central Region defeated the 12th-rated tandem of Sarah Russell and Eryn Koch 8-3 at No. 1 doubles, while Lauren Hom (Jr., Stevens Point, Wis.) and Marla Menne (Sr., White Bear Lake, Minn.), rated fifth regionally, downed Lisa Ottum and Shelley Getzendanner 8-5 at No. 2 doubles. Darcy Haubrick (Jr., Elk River, Minn.) and Jenni White (So., Cedar Rapids, Iowa) completed the doubles sweep with an 8-2 win at No. 3 over Abby Beggs and Christina Walker.
At No. 1 singles, Houlihan topped Russell 6-1, 6-1 in a battle of two regionally rated singles players. Houlihan was rated seventh and Russell 15th in the latest regional rankings. Palen, the 24th rated singles player in the region added a 6-3, 6-3 win Beggs at No. 2 singles, while Jaime Gaard added a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 4 singles over Christina Walker in the only other completed match.
The seventh-rated Gusties (27-4) must now wait to see if they will host First- and Second-Round NCAA matches next weekend. That announcement will be made Monday, May 1.