Athletics

Men’s Tennis Wins Three Matches, Highlighted By 5-4 Victory Over No. 9 WashU

The No. 7-ranked Gustavus men’s tennis team won all three of its matches Saturday to improve to 13-5 overall and 4-0 in the MIAC. The Gusties defeated Bethel 8-1 and Augustana (S.D.) 6-3 at the Swanson Tennis Center, while the top squad beat No. 9-ranked Washington University-St. Louis 5-4 at the Kings Point Sports Club.

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PHOTO GALLERY

ST. PETER, Minn. & BELLEVILLE, Ill. – The No. 7-ranked Gustavus men’s tennis team won all three of its matches Saturday to improve to 13-5 overall and 4-0 in the MIAC. The Gusties defeated Bethel 8-1 and Augustana (S.D.) 6-3 at the Swanson Tennis Center, while the top squad beat No. 9-ranked Washington University-St. Louis 5-4 at the Kings Point Sports Club. The win over Bethel marked Gustavus’s 299th consecutive MIAC victory, an unprecedented streak that dates back to 1985.

After claiming a 3-0 lead in doubles play, the Gusties faced a tough singles lineup from WashU that was able to take the Nos. 1-3 matches. The match came down to No. 6 singles where Tommy Entwistle (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) climbed back to win the third set breaker after a 2-6 loss in the first.

“The entire team put together an outstanding effort today,” Head Coach Tommy Valentini said. “The group at home played fantastic doubles against both Bethel and Augustana. In singles they showed some great poise in key spots and secured two great wins. In St. Louis the guys played aggressive doubles with great energy and executed our plans well. Wash U competes as well as anyone in the country and they made a big push in the singles. The guys stayed calm and trusted each other right to the end. Chase Johnson played a phenomenal tactical match to get us to four, and Tommy handled the moment with incredible poise and courage to come back from a set down and win it 7-6 in the third with the match in the balance. It was an incredible match that certainly could have gone either way. We feel very fortunate to have come away with the result tonight and we’ll look to continue to grow from today’s performance.”

Gustavus 5, WashU 4

Singles

  1. Johnny Wu (WASHU) def. #1 Mohanad Alhouni (Sr., Tripoli, Libya) (GAC) 6-4, 7-5
  2. Bernardo Neves (WASHU) def. #18 Zach Ekstein (Sr., Eagan, Minn.) (GAC) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
  3. Benjamin vander Sman (WASHU) def. Patrick Whaling (Jr., Manakin Sabot, Va.) (GAC) 6-4, 6-4
  4. #35 Chase Johnson (Jr., Golden Valley, Minn.) (GAC) def. J.J. Kroot (WASHU) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
  5. Daniel Li (WASHU) def. Yassine Derbani (So., Casablanca, Morocco) (GAC) 7-5, 6-4
  6. Tommy Entwistle (GAC) def. Koki Takabatake (WASHU) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)

Doubles

  1. #6 Mohanad Alhouni/Patrick Whaling (GAC) def. #12 Konrad Kozlowski/Jason Haugen (WASHU) 8-2
  2. Tommy Entwistle/Chase Johnson (GAC) def. Bernardo Neves/Radha Vishnubhotla (WASHU) 8-6
  3. Zach Ekstein/Yassine Derbani (GAC) def. J.J. Kroot/Daniel Li (WASHU) 8-5

Gustavus 8, Bethel 1

Singles

  1. Hunter Fernelius (BU) def. Michael O’Neil (So., Edina, Minn.) (GAC) 1-6, 7-6, 10-7
  2. Gabe Steinwand (Sr., Moorhead, Minn.) (GAC) def. Zach Kantor (BU) 6-0, 7-6
  3. Mason Bultje (Sr., Mankato, Minn.) (GAC) def. Nick Knudsen (BU) 6-0, 6-1
  4. Xavier Sanga (Fy., Madison, Wis.) (GAC) def. Jakob Bartels (BU) 6-2, 6-0
  5. Lawrence Hiquiana (Fy., Downers Grove, Ill.) (GAC) def. Zeke Delain (BU) 6-4, 6-2
  6. Mouaad Alhouni (Fy., Tripoli, Libya) (GAC) def. Peter Lindberg (BU) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles

  1. Mason Bultje/Michael O’Neil (GAC) def. Hunter Fernelius/Zach Kantor (BU) 8-3
  2. Gabe Steinwand/Xavier Sanga (GAC) def. Jakob Bartels/Zeke Delain (BU) 8-4
  3. Lawrence Hiquiana/Mouaad Alhouni (GAC) def. Noah Ridgway/Nick Knudsen (BU) 8-4

Gustavus 6, Augustana 3

Singles

  1. Adkins, Charlie (AUGIE) def. Michael O’Neil (GAC) 6-4, 6-3
  2. Adkins, Zachary (AUGIE) def. Gabe Steinwand (GAC) 5-7, 6-2, 7-6
  3. Mason Bultje (GAC) def. Barr, Logan (AUGIE) 6-2, 6-1
  4. Xavier Sanga (GAC) def. Sawatzke, Joe (AUGIE) 7-6 (10-8), 6-3
  5. VanDerWeide, Austin (AUGIE) def. Lawrence Hiquiana (GAC) 0-6, 6-3, wd
  6. Mouaad Alhouni (GAC) def. Knewtson, North (AUGIE) 6-3, 7-5

Doubles

  1. Mason Bultje/Michael O’Neil (GAC) def. Adkins, Charlie/Barr, Logan (AUGIE) 8-5
  2. Gabe Steinwand/Xavier Sanga (GAC) def. Adkins, Zachary/Knewtson, North (AUGIE) 8-5
  3. Lawrence Hiquiana/Mouaad Alhouni (GAC) def. VanDerWeide, Austin/Sawatzke, Joe (AUGIE) 9-8

Gustavus next plays April 4 in California as it takes on Hope International and Pomona Pitzer.