The fifth-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College men’s tennis team improved to 16-6 overall and 8-0 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with home wins over University of Nebraska-Kearney (8-1), St. Cloud State University (7-2) and Saint Mary’s University (9-0) at the Swanson Tennis Center in St. Peter.
#5 Gustavus Adolphus College 8, University of Nebraska-Kearney 1
The Gusties opened the day with an 8-1 over the Lopers from University of Nebraska-Kearney. Gustavus took a 3-0 lead following doubles play as Mike Burdakin (So., Bettendorf, Iowa) and Charlie Paukert (So., Grand Forks, N.D.) defeated William Jacome and Drew Mercier 8-4 at the No. 1 position, Ben Tomasek (So., Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul) and Nick Hansen (So., Duluth, Minn./East) topped Luke Backhaus and Andres Espinosa 8-2 at the No. 2 spot, Ashok Jethwa (So., Minot, N.D.) and Claudio Bravo (Sr., Tucson, Ariz./Rincon) downed Akihiro Sakai and Noriaki Naruse 8-5 at No. 3 doubles.
Gustavus added wins in five of six singles matches to put the dual out of reach. Jesse Brauer (Sr., Mankato, Minn./West) topped Mercier 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2 singles, Burdakin defeated Espinosa 7-5, 6-1 at the No. 3 spot, Paukert downed Backhaus 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 4 position, Bravo ousted Michael Ambritz 6-0, 6-2 at No. 5 singles, and at No. 6, Hansen defeated Naruse 6-3, 6-2.
The Lopers picked up their only point at No. 1 singles as Jacome defeated Andy Bryan (Jr., Edina, Minn.) 6-4, 6-2.
#5 Gustavus Adolphus College 7, St. Cloud State University 2
Gustavus defeated Div. II St. Cloud State 7-2 Saturday afternoon to pick up their second dual victory of the day. The Gusties took two of three doubles matches as Bryan and Brauer downed Wojciech Batorski and Mike Master 8-1 at the No. 1 spot and Tomasek and Hansen topped Joey Jachymowski and Tom Ronning 8-5 at the No. 2 position. The Huskies picked up a win at No. 3 doubles as Kevin Lukens and Kris Johnson defeated Aaron Zenner (Jr., St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) and John Kauss (So., St. Paul, Minn./Harding) 9-7.
Bryan, Brauer, Kauss, and Tomasek each picked up straight-set wins over the Huskies. Bryan eked out a 7-5, 7-6 (12-10) victory over Batorski at No. 1 singles, while Brauer topped Master 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 2 spot, Kauss downed Jachymowski 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 3 position, and Tomasek defeated Tom Ronning 7-5, 6-3 at No. 5 singles. At No. 4 singles, Burdakin dropped the first set to Lukens but rebounded to win the match in three sets 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-1). SCSU picked up the win at No. 6 singles as Johnson edged Danny Suchy (Sr., La Crosse, Wis./Central) in three sets, 6-1, 5-7, 1-0 (11-9).
#5 Gustavus Adolphus College 9, Saint Mary’s University 0
The Gusties closed out the day with a 9-0 sweep over MIAC opponent Saint Mary’s. Gustavus took both contested doubles matches as Chad Olson (Jr., Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) and David Koppel (So., Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) topped Adam Solseth and Steve Clements 8-4 at the No. 1 spot and Ryan Dunn (Fr., Fond du Lac, Wis.) and Theo Roth (So., Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert) downed Tony Miller and David Reckase 8-3 at the No. 2 position. Danny Suchy and Griffin Foley (Jr., White Bear Lake, Minn./Mahtomedi) won by default at No. 3 doubles.
Gustavus completed the sweep by capturing the five contested singles matches. Olson downed Solseth 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1 singles, Suchy topped Clements 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2, Foley defeated Miller 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3, Ashok Jethwa defeated Reckase 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4 and Brian Laumeyer (Sr., Owatonna, Minn.) swept Andy Weigman 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5. Aaron Zenner picked up a win by default at No. 6 singles.
The Gusties are idle until April 2 when they face Pomona-Pitzer in Pomona, Calif., to kick off their Spring Break trip to the West Coast. Gustavus will also Fresno Pacific (April 3 at Azusa, Calif.), University of Redlands (April 4), and Azusa Pacific (April 5) during the trip.
Gustavus/UN-Kearney Box Score
Gustavus/St. Cloud State Box Score
Gustavus/Saint Mary’s Box Score