BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced its women’s tennis postseason awards Thursday and five Gusties were recognized as All-Conference members. Cal Carlson (Sr., St. Peter, Minn.) highlighted the awards as she was honored with the Chris Evert Award, which annually recognizes a senior tennis student-athlete with outstanding sportsmanship and exemplary athletic, academic and humanitarian accomplishments.
Carlson is a Religion and Communications double major, with great involvement in Pound Pals as a leader of the program working at local animal shelter, in various religious organizations such as Proclaim and Fellowship of Christian Athlete’s (FCA), is the former Vice President of her sorority and is a Gustavus SAAC group member.
“The task of describe the last four years of moments on this campus, each one just as impactful as the last, seems next to impossible,” Carlson told the MIAC. “I am just grateful I got the opportunity to play collegiate tennis for the past four years. I am grateful for my teammates, coaches, and opponents. All have helped me in some way to be the competitor and, more importantly, the person I am today.”
Carlson’s accomplishments on the court also speak volumes as she has earned All-MIAC singles and doubles honors in her senior season. This year, Carlson is 16-6 in singles play and 16-8 in doubles play with a total of 93 career wins in both singles and doubles combined.
Joining Carlson on the MIAC All-Conference Team are Katie Aney (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.), Ally Baker (Jr., Rosemount, Minn.), Briana Hartmann (So., Owatonna, Minn.), and Michaela Schulz (Sr., Elk River, Minn.). All five Gusties were named to both the singles and doubles All-MIAC teams.
Aney makes her first appearance on the All-Conference team as she boasts the best record on the Gustavus squad with an overall singles record of 22-3 (10-0 MIAC) and 20-4 in doubles (9-0 MIAC). Aney spent the bulk of the season at No. 5 singles where she posted a 12-2 overall record, but has since moved up to No. 4 and holds a 5-0 mark. Aney has partnered with Lilly Hartman (So., Cedar Rapids, Iowa) at No. 3 doubles where they own a 16-3 record.
Baker has earned her second straight All-Conference nod after posting a 16-8 overall record in singles (8-1 MIAC) and 20-5 mark in doubles (9-0 MIAC). Baker has been the Gusties’ No. 2 singles player and holds a 13-7 record in that spot. She partners with Schulz at No. 1 doubles and together own a 17-4 record at the top spot.
Hartmann also makes her second consecutive appearance on the All-MIAC team with a 20-6 overall singles record (10-0 MIAC) and 17-9 mark in doubles (8-2 MIAC). She had been the Gusties’ No. 3 singles player and holds a 15-5 record in that spot. Hartmann and Carlson have paired at No. 2 doubles and together own a 13-8 record in the second spot.
Schulz is wrapping up her impressive Gustavus career as a four-time All-Conference honoree. Schulz this season has a 16-9 overall singles record (7-1 MIAC) and is 20-5 in doubles (9-0 MIAC) – all matches with Baker as her partner. Schulz has been the face of Gustavus women’s tennis over the past four years, having played at No. 1 singles every season. She owns career records of 71-43 (33-4 MIAC) in singles and 89-26 (34-3) in doubles.
As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the 11th annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team for women’s tennis. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the court. Representing Gustavus on this year’s All-Sportsmanship Team was senior Riley Abeyesekera (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.).
Gustavus begins MIAC postseason play 3:30 p.m. tomorrow, hosting St. Thomas.
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One response to “Five Gusties Named Women’s Tennis All-Conference, Carlson Earns Chris Evert Award”
So proud of all of you. Especially niece Calleigh and her mom Heidi 💕