The Gustavus men’s tennis is the favorite to claim its 16th consecutive MIAC title this weekend, however the Gusties will be challenged by #2 seed Carleton, which compiled a regular season conference record of 8-1, and is rated #8 in the Midwest Region. Saint John’s, which finished league play at 7-2 is the third seed and Saint Thomas, which finished at 6-3 is the fourth seed. The Tournament will be played on the Brown and Gibbs outdoor courts on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus in St. Peter. Play begins on Friday, April 23 at 9:00 am and concludes with the championship and third place matches at 4:30 pm on Saturday.
The Gusties, who are rated #3 nationally and #1 in the Midwest Region, cruised through regular season league play with a 9-0 match record. Coach Steve Wilkinson’s squad posted a record of 54-0 in singles play and 26-1 in doubles play. #1 singles player Loren Collins, who has compiled an overall record of 22-3, is rated fourth nationally, while the #1 doubles team of Adam Morgan and Brett Morse-Karzen, is also rated fourth nationally.
Carleton, which is in the process of putting together its finest season in the program’s history, has compiled an overall record of 18-2 and enters the MIAC tournament with a seven-match win streak. The Knights edged both #3 seed St. John’s and #4 seed St. Thomas, by the score of 5-4 during the regular season. Carleton’s lone loss was to Gustavus by the score of 8-1. In the loss to Gustavus, the Knight’s doubles team of Mike Ottum and Aleks Diamond-Stanic upset the Gusties nationally ranked doubles team of Morgan and Morse-Karzen 9-8. In singles play, Carleton is led by Mike Ottum, who posed a league record of 5-2 at #1 singles.
Saint John’s and St. Thomas, which lost close regular season decisions to Carleton, will be looking to advance to the semifinals where the Johnnies would hope to get another shot at the Knights and St. Thomas would most likely meet up with the Gusties. Other teams looking to post upset bids would be Hamline (#5 seed) and St. Mary’s (#6 seed). Both teams posted league marks of 4-5. The Pipers defeated the Cardinals 5-4 back in February. Hamline will match up with St. Thomas in one quarterfinal match on Friday afternoon, while Saint Mary’s will match up with Saint John’s in another quarterfinal match.
The tournament will begin on Friday morning with #8 seed Concordia facing #9 seed Bethel and #7 seed St. Olaf facing #10 seed Macalester. The winner of the Concordia/Bethel match will play top-seeded Gustavus, while the winner of the St. Olaf/Macalester match will play #2 seed Carleton.
2004 MIAC Men’s Tennis Tournament Preview
The Gustavus men’s tennis team will host the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament this Friday and Saturday, April 23-24 at the Brown and Gibbs outdoor tennis courts. The Gusties will be looking to claim their 16th consecutive title.
—
by