SAINT PETER, Minn. — Gustavus Adolphus College is set to host the first, second, and third rounds of the NCAA Championships Friday through Sunday, welcoming some of the best talent in Division III to Saint Peter for the regional tournament with first serve to take place this Friday.
TOURNAMENT WEBPAGE | LIVE STREAM
Six of the nation’s top Division III teams are set to face each other at the Swanson Tennis Center as a part of the three-day event consisting of five single-elimination matches over the weekend. Earning a first round bye, the No. 13-nationally ranked Gusties will face the winner of a first round match between the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Milwaukee School of Engineering.
UW-Whitewater and MSOE will face each other Friday, while the other half of the regional bracket features a first round matchup between Grinnell College and Luther College. The University of Chicago was granted a first round bid as well, and will face the winner of the second Friday matchup. The second round winners will face each other for the regional final on Sunday at noon.
SCOUTING THE GUSTIES
The Gusties finished the regular season with a 24-10 overall record and perfect 9-0 showing in conference play to clinch their 34th-consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship. As the first seed in the MIAC Playoff Championship, the Gusties faced Saint John’s in the semifinal and Carleton in the title game, defeating both opponents by scores of 5-0. The win helped the Gusties to their 35th bid to the NCAA Championships, getting the MIAC’s automatic qualifier to the tournament.
The Gusties own an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 55-39 and have compiled two national championships in program history (1980, 1982), and finished as runners-up three times (1979, 1984, 2000). The NCAA appearance is the Gusties’ 11th-consecutive. Only Emory University has more program appearances, with just one more than the Gusties.
Nick Aney (Sr., Rochester) leads the Gusties as the team’s No. 1 singles player with a record of 7-6, while boasting a 12-3 record with Daniel Fouchier (Sr., Nootdorp, Netherlands) as the team’s top doubles duo. Aney and Fouchier received plenty of conference accolades earlier this week, earning the distinction of MIAC Doubles Team of the Year and MIAC All-Conference Doubles. Aney and Fouchier have compiled a perfect conference record in 2022-23, and wrapped up the regular season as the No. 1-ranked doubles team in NCAA Region VII and the No. 4 Central Region doubles team according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Both were selected to compete in the NCAA Individual Championships, the association office announced Wednesday. Aney and Fouchier await draws for the championships, which will take place May 13-16.
Aney and Marco Siviero (So., Sao Miguel de Oeste, Brazil) are both ranked in the ITA’s and NCAA’s regional singles breakdown, with Aney holding a No. 2 ranking in NCAA Region VIII and No. 6 in the ITA’s Central Region, while Siviero sits fifth (NCAA) and 15th (ITA). The doubles team of Siviero and partner Sourabh Terakanambi (Sr., Apple Valley) own the best team doubles record at 17-6, winning their last three, and posting five wins over nationally ranked opponents.
The Gusties have faced four of five teams in the regional bracket already this season, defeating Grinnell (9-0), Luther (8-1), and UW-Whitewater (5-3) earlier this year, but fell to defending national champions Chicago 5-3 during the ITA Indoor Championships, and again 7-2 on March 25. Alex Budde (Sr., Menomonee Falls, Wis.) has posted an impressive record against each of these teams, going 4-1 in singles and 4-1 in doubles, including a win with doubles partner Gage Gohl (Fy., Sioux Falls, S.D.) over then No. 1 U Chicago at the ITA Indoor Championships.
ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
SCOUTING THE WARHAWKS
The Warhawks earned an automatic bid from the New Jersey Athletic Conference with a 5-2 win over the College of New Jersey last week. Wisconsin-Whitewater finished the regular season with a 16-5 overall record, earning a regional ranking of No. 2 in the NCAA Region VII rankings and No. 7 in the ITA Central Region. John Zakowski and Luke VanDonslear are the Warhawks’ season leaders, with Zakowski owning a singles record of 17-8 and VanDonslear a record of 19-9. The two have compiled a doubles record of 22-10, and, with it, a regional ranking of No. 3/No. 6. The last time the duo was in Saint Peter, they took home the ITA Midwest Regional Doubles Championship.
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
MSOE enters the tournament for the first time since 2010 after going 14-9 overall in regular season play. The Raiders defeated Illinois Tech in the NACC tournament to clinch an automatic qualifier. Junior Jachym Smid leads the Raiders this season with a singles record of 15-2, including a win streak of 15. Smid and doubles partner Joe Chong boast an undefeated doubles record of 11-0 this season.
ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Grinnell College enters NCAA play with a record of 17-7 overall, having won nine of their last matches. The Pioneers qualified for their 16th NCAA tournament following a 5-0 victory over Lake Forest. Leo Esztergomi enters as the Pioneers’ No. 1 in the singles and the doubles, paired with partner Aiden Klass. Grinnell will face Luther College for the second time this season, having defeated the Norse 7-2 already. The last time the Pioneers were in Saint Peter, they suffered a 9-0 loss at the hands of the Gusties.
ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
SCOUTING THE NORSE
Luther College enters the NCAA tournament for the 10th time, following a victory of 5-0 over Coe College in the American Rivers Conference (ARC) Championship match. Luke Westholder headlines the Norse this season, boasting a No. 10 ITA and No. 4 NCAA regional ranking. Westholder earned All-America honors as a sophomore and became the second player in program history to win the ITA Midwest Regional Singles Tournament, hosted in Saint Peter earlier this year. Westholder is 25-6 in singles and 23-4 in the doubles with partner Max Loen.
ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
SCOUTING THE MAROONS
The defending national champions U Chicago enter the tournament with the highest national ranking of teams at the regional, sitting at No. 9, according to the ITA. Three Maroons have earned NCAA and ITA regional recognition in the singles, Derek Hsieh (2/4), Arjun Asokumar (4/7), and Emil Grantcharov (7/24), while Hsieh and Asokumar (2/3) are ranked in doubles as well. U Chicago finished the regular season with a record of 15-5 overall, including two victories over the Gusties earlier this year.
ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
