CLAREMONT, Calif. — The Gustavus men’s tennis team sent a squad out to California to match up against some of the nation’s best talent at the Stag-Hen Invitational, hosted by No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Gusties faced No. 13 Trinity University (Texas) in their first match of the weekend, defeating the Tigers 5-2.
“The Stag-Hen is a great event with a stacked field. The weather has thrown us a few curves so far, but we’re thankful to our hosts for doing all they can to get us on court to enjoy the competition and the tournament,” said Head Coach Tommy Valentini.
The No. 17 Gusties started off strong, going undefeated in the doubles matches, outlasting the Tigers by two scores of 6-4 and a marathon 7-6 from Sourabh Terakanambi (Sr., Apple Valley) and Marco Siviero (So., Sao Miguel de Oeste, Brazil). Nick Aney (Sr., Rochester) and Daniel Fouchier (Sr., Nootdorp, Netherlands) defeated the Tigers’ No. 1 pair, also ranked No. 23 in the nation.
“The guys put together an excellent performance to come out on top against at top quality national opponent like Trinity. The conditions were tough and so was the opponent. We adjusted well in the back half of each doubles match and competed with a lot of poise to secure the doubles point – the Stag-Hen uses the 7-point format.”
The Gusties were impressive in their singles competitions as well, with Alex Budde (Sr., Menomonee Falls, Wis.) extending his win streak to four, taking down his third nationally-ranked opponent in the last two weeks. Josh Christensen (So., Rochester), in the No. 5 spot for the Gusties, came from behind to defeat Trinity’s Ruiz, winning his final two sets 6-4 after falling in the first, 7-5.
“It was good to get the 1-0 lead, and from there we had to really focus on what we could control. Every guy competed well and with the match tied 2-2 and three 3-setters on it was great to watch our guys embrace the moment and support each other. We were fortunate to get all three of them to go our way, but either way, the way we competed was the highlight.
“We’re thankful for the positive result and will hope to get back out again here soon to embrace one of the toughest challenges in our sport – taking on CMS at their place.”
The Gusties are scheduled to continue competition at the Stag-Hen Invitational, but await weather forecasts for scheduling. Gustavus will likely take on host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps before the end of the weekend.
Trinity Doubles
| 1. Nick Aney/Daniel Fouchier (GACM) def. #23 Alessio Azzalini/Rafa Candelas Ruiz (TU) 6-4 |
| 2. Alex Budde/Gage Gohl (GACM) def. Hao Nguyen/Eric Liao (TU) 6-4 |
| 3. Sourabh Terakanambi/Marco Siviero (GACM) def. Robert Chang/Dalton Locke (TU) 7-6 (10-8) |
Trinity Singles
| 1. Nick Aney (GACM) def. #13 Alessio Azzalini (TU) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0, retired |
| 2. #30 Hao Nguyen (TU) def. Indraneel Raut (GACM) 6-1, 6-1 |
| 3. #15 Marco Siviero (GACM) def. Connor Whittington (TU) 6-2, 6-0 |
| 4. Eric Liao (TU) def. Daniel Fouchier (GACM) 1-6, 6-0, 6-2 |
| 5. Josh Christensen (GACM) def. Rafa Candelas Ruiz (TU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 |
| 6. Alex Budde (GACM) def. Aashish Dhanani (TU) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 |