Men’s Tennis Upsets No. 3 Chicago 6-3

WEST BEND, Wis. – Six days after suffering a shutout loss to the No. 6-ranked team in the country, the No. 8-ranked Gustavus men’s tennis team upset No. 3 Chicago 6-3 Friday night in a rematch of last season’s NCAA Central Region championship. The Gusties are now 16-8 overall and 7-2 against Division III nationally ranked teams.

“The guys played a fantastic match from the start tonight,” Head Coach Tommy Valentini said. “The doubles level on all three courts was tremendous and each match could have gone either way. The guys showed great poise in the big moments and it was a big lift to have the lead heading into the singles. In the singles we stayed very positive and committed to our game plan and the guys trusted and supported each other beautifully. We lost a few quick first sets but bounced back extremely well in those spots and got a huge lift. Chicago is an elite team and we feel fortunate that the result tonight matched how well we competed. We’ll look to learn from it and to keep improving as a team.”

Singles

1. Mohanad Alhouni (Sr., Tripoli, Libya) (GAC) def. Erik Kerrigan (UC) 7-5, 7-5
2. Zach Ekstein (Sr., Eagan, Minn.) (GAC) def. Luke Tsai (UC) 6-1, 6-4
3. Nicolas Chua (UC) def. Chase Johnson (Jr., Golden Valley, Minn.) (GAC) 6-1, 6-7, 6-2
4. Patrick Whaling (Jr., Manakin Sabot, Va.) (GAC) def. Jeremy Yuan (UC) 6-7, 6-3, 7-6
5. Yassine Derbani (So., Casablanca, Morocco) (GAC) def. Alejandro Rodriguez (UC) 0-6, 6-4, 6-1
6. Charlie Pei (UC) def. Tommy Entwistle (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) (GAC) 6-7, 7-6, 6-3

Doubles

1. Mohanad Alhouni/Patrick Whaling (GAC) def. Erik Kerrigan/Nicolas Chua (UC) 8-7
2. Jeremy Yuan/Tyler Raclin (UC) def. Tommy Entwistle/Chase Johnson (GAC) 8-7
3. Zach Ekstein/Mason Bultje (Sr., Mankato, Minn.) (GAC) def. Bobby Bethke/Charlie Pei (UC) 8-6

Gustavus returns to MIAC action April 21, hosting Carleton at 2 p.m. The Gusties will be going for their 300th consecutive MIAC victory, a streak dating back to 1985.