Both Gustavus Adolphus tennis teams remained ranked in the top 15 nationally as the first Fila Division III Tennis rankings of the spring were released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Thursday, March 15. The Gustavus men, ranked fourth nationally in the fall edition of the rankings, dropped one notch to fifth, while the Gustavus women moved up one spot to 12th. UC-Santa Cruz is ranked first nationally on the men’s side, while Emory is top-ranked on the women’s side.
The Gustavus men, who are also rated first in the Central Region, are also well represented in the individual rankings at both the national and regional level. Andy Bryan (Jr., Edina, Minn.) and Jesse Brauer (Sr., Mankato, Minn./West) are the top rated doubles team in the nation. In singles, Bryan is rated sixth nationally and tops in the Central Region, while Brauer is ninth nationally and second in the region. The Gusties’ No. 2 doubles tandem of Mike Burdakin (So., Bettendorf, Iowa) and Charlie Paukert (So., Grand Forks, N.D.) are ranked eighth regionally. UC-Santa Cruz leapt into the poll’s top spot from seventh after their win at the 2007 ITA Division III Men’s National Team Indoor Championships in February, while two-time NCAA singles and doubles champion Matt Seeberger is rated first nationally in singles.
The Gustavus women are rated second in the Central Region behind national No. 2 DePauw University. Emory leads the initial women’s poll of the spring. The Gusties’ top doubles team of Lauren Hom (Sr., Stevens Point, Wis.) and Sierra Krebsbach (FY, North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) are rated third regionally, while Hom is ranked sixth and Jaime Gaard (Sr., Edina, Minn.) is 13th regionally in singles. DePauw’s Liz Bondi holds down the top spot in the Central Region singles rankings and shares the region’s top doubles position with teammate Amrita Padda. Bondi and Padda were runners-up to Gustavus’ Tara Houlihan and Lyndsey Palen at last spring’s NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Championships. Individual national rankings were not released.