The seventh-rated Gustavus Adolphus women’s tennis team advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Team Championships May 17-22 in Santa Cruz, California with a 5-0 win over 13th-rated Wheaton (Ill.) Saturday at the Brown Outdoor Tennis Complex in St. Peter, Minnesota. The Gusties (28-4) swept the three doubles matches and picked up wins from Lauren Hom (No. 3 singles) and Jenni White (No. 6 singles) to close out the match.
Seniors Tara Houlihan (Sioux Falls, S.D.) and Lyndsey Palen (Rochester, Minn.), the defending NCAA Division III doubles champions, kicked off the dual with a 8-0 win over Elizabeth Maclellan and Jordan Hook at No. 1 doubles. Houlihan and Palen entered the match rated second in the Central Region, two spots ahead of Maclellan and Hook.
Junior Lauren Hom (Stevens Point, Wis.) and senior Marla Menne (White Bear Lake, Minn.) followed with a 8-1 win over Karly Olson and Brooke Parrish at No. 2 doubles. The dual’s most exciting match was found at No. 3 doubles as Gustavus’ Jenni White (So., Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and Darcy Haubrick (Jr., Elk River, Minn.) found themselves down 0-5 to Wheaton’s Shannon Hale and Leah Moberg, but won six of the last seven games to emerge with an 8-6 victory to complete the doubles sweep.
Hom and White closed out the match with singles wins. Hom downed Olson 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 singles, while White ended the dual with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Brittney Dunn. Gustavus was leading in three of the other four singles matches at the time they were abandoned.
Gustavus Adolphus improved its record all-time in NCAA matches to 26-19, while Wheaton (19-3), making just its second NCAA appearance, saw its record evened at 2-2. The Gusties have reached the quarterfinal round for the 17th time in 18 overall NCAA appearances.