Releases courtesy of Matt Higgins, MIAC Assistant Executive Director
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Gustavus Adolphus College tennis players Mohanad Alhouni (So., Tripoli, Libya) and Michaela Schulz (Jr., Elk River, Minn.) were honored Tuesday as the MIAC’s Tennis Athletes of the Week as voted on by the league’s sports information directors.
Alhouni
The Gustavus men’s tennis team traveled to San Antonio to take on some of the nation’s top teams, and the Gusties went a respectable 3-3 against their top-notch foes. Sophomore Mohanad Alhouni squared off against the opponents’ top players and more than held his own, with a 2-2 singles record at the No. 1 spot, and a 1-3 doubles record. For his performance, the MIAC sports information directors honored Alhouni Tuesday with his third MIAC Men’s Tennis Athlete-of-the-Week award of the 2016 season.
Alhouni started his impressive week with a big win against a step up in competition. He defeated the top player from Saint Mary’s-Texas, 6-4, 6-2, and lost a narrow 8-4 match at No. 1 doubles as Gustavus nearly upset the 27-ranked ranked team in Division II, 5-4. The team also dropped a narrow 5-4 decision to No. 12 Trinity, with Alhouni dropping his No. 1 singles match to the nation’s seventh-ranked player, and his No. 1 doubles team losing an 8-6 heartbreaker. The team and Alhouni also suffered a 7-2 setback to No. 13 Washington (Mo.), but pulled off a 5-4 win over No. 29 Texas-Tyler, with Alhouni getting a 6-2, 7-5, win at No. 1 singles against a nationally-ranked foe, and his No. 2 doubles team was an 8-4 winner.
This season, Alhouni has an 11-4 singles record and an 8-6 doubles mark. The Gustavus sophomore is ranked No. 4 nationally in singles play and No. 11 in doubles play, and he’s ranked No. 3 in singles and No. 4 in doubles in the Central Region. The Gusties are ranked No. 19 in the nation and No.5 in the Central Region. Gustavus is now 16-6 overall and 5-0 in conference play, and they have a trio of MIAC matches on this week’s schedule. Friday the Gusties are at St. Olaf (4 p.m.) and Saturday’s they’ll travel to both Hamline (10:30 a.m.) and Macalester (4:30 p.m.).
Schulz
The Gustavus women’s tennis team split four very difficult matches against tremendous competition over the weekend at the Midwest Invite in Madison, Wis. Just like her team, junior standout Michaela Schulz (Elk River, Minn.) also split against her top-notch foes, going 2-2 at No. 1 singles and also 2-2 at No. 1 doubles in the four matches. For her performance, the MIAC sports information directors honored Schulz Tuesday with her second MIAC Women’s Tennis Athlete-of-the-Week award of the 2016 season.
Schulz started her busy weekend with a 6-4, 7-5, No. 1 singles win and an 8-4 No. 1 doubles win to help her team beat Augustana (Ill.), which is ranked No. 13 in the Central Region, 7-2. She also closed the weekend on a high note with a 6-0, 6-2, No. 1 singles win and an 8-4 No. 1 doubles win to help Gustavus beat the region’s 16th-ranked team, Carthage, 5-1. In between, Gustavus lost to No. 9 Washington (Mo.) 7-2 and to No. 23 Denison 5-2, with Schulz coming up just short against two of the region’s top six singles players and two of the top-seven ranked doubles teams in the region.
This season, Schulz is 6-7 in singles play and 9-4 in doubles matches, and she’s ranked No. 36 in the nation and No. 11 in the Central Region in singles. Gustavus is ranked 39th nationally and No. 10 in the Central Region, with a 12-6 overall record and a perfect 3-0 mark in MIAC play. The Gusties will hit the road for another busy weekend, with MIAC matches at Macalester (11 a.m.) and St. Catherine (4 p.m.) Saturday, and at Saint Mary’s Sunday (12:30 p.m.).