Release Courtesy of Matt Higgins – Assistant to the Executive Director
The Gustavus men’s tennis team continued its dominance in the MIAC over the weekend as the Gusties rolled to a pair of wins en route to their third-straight conference postseason title. Leading the way was junior Mya Smith-Dennis (Savage, Minn./Burnsville), who won all four of his matches – two apiece at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles. For his postseason performance, Smith-Dennis was named the final MIAC Men’s Tennis Athlete-of-the-Week for the 2013 season.
Smith-Dennis got the Gusties off to a great start in both the 5-0 semifinal win over Saint John’s, and the 8-1 championship victory over Carleton. He teamed up with Amrik Donkena to score an 8-2 No. 1 doubles win against the Johnnies, and the duo were 8-6 winners over the Knights’ top doubles team. Smith-Dennis scored a 6-1, 6-0, victory at No. 2 singles against SJU, and he was a 6-3, 6-2, winner in the title match against Carleton. This season, Smith-Dennis is 19-12 in singles competition and ranked No. 9 in the region, and he has a 21-8 doubles record, and he and Donkena are the No. 2-ranked doubles team in the region.
With MIAC regular-season and Playoff championships in their trophy case for 2013, Smith-Dennis and his teammates now turn their focus to the 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Tournament. The Gusties (22-9) will open national tournament play with a first-round bye, and will face UW-Whitewater (19-11) in the second round. The match will take place Saturday at 12 p.m. central time in Whitewater, Wis., at Wangerin Courts. The winner will play the next day, also at noon, in a third-round contest.