BLOOMINGTON, MINN. – Gustavus Adolphus women’s tennis sophomore Michaela Schulz (Elk River, Minn.) has been named the MIAC’s Women’s Tennis Athlete-of-the-Week for the second time this season, as voted on by the MIAC sports information directors. Playing in the competitive Midwest Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin this past weekend in which her team took on three nationally-ranked foes, Schulz proved why she is currently ranked No. 12 individually in the Central Region and helped solidify the Gusties’ reputation as a top-tier national squad.
In doubles play, Schulz and her partner Lizzy Stanczyk (Jr., Plymouth, Wis.), went 3-1 on the weekend at the No. 2 position, including victories over Kenyon College (ranked No. 12 in the Central Region), No. 29 UW-Whitewater and No. 22 Hope College. The pair is now 10-2 this spring and have won seven out of their past eight matches.
Singles proved to be a bit of a different story for Schulz, as the Elk River native went just 1-3 on the weekend. However, Schulz was facing the stiffest of competition, as she took on three opponents that are individually ranked in the top 10 in the Central Region, including No. 3 Megan Humphreys of UW-Whitewater, No. 7 Claire Marshall of DePauw and No. 8 Nancy Benda of Hope. Schulz pushed Humphreys, the 2014 USTA/ITA Midwest Regional singles champion, to her limit in a 2-6, 6-3, 0-6 defeat and nearly pulled off an upset over Marshall before narrowly falling 6-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-2). However, in the Gusties’ final match of the weekend, Schulz continued her streak of third set matches and turned her luck around by defeating Benda by a final score of 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7).
Gustavus, who is one of four teams left in the MIAC that remains unbeaten in conference play, will return to the courts this coming Saturday at the Brown Outdoor Tennis Complex when it hosts Saint Mary’s University and St. Olaf College in a key MIAC doubleheader. The Gusties will take on the Cardinals at 11 a.m. before facing off with the Oles, another undefeated team in the conference, at 4 p.m.