ROME, Ga. – The Gustavus men's tennis team concluded competition at the 2024 ITA Cup at the Rome Tennis Center, as
Josh Christensen (Sr., Rochester) and
Marco Siviero's (Sr., Sao Miguel de Oeste, Brazil) epic run in the doubles bracket came to an end in the semifinals Saturday afternoon.
Gage Gohl (Jr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) also wrapped up his matches in the singles consolation bracket earlier in the day.
Gohl started things off on a sunny Georgia morning, facing Trinity University's Ryan Warren in the consolation singles semifinal. Gohl, who dropped his first match of the tournament on Thursday, went undefeated for the rest of the weekend, capped by a two-set victory against Warren. The junior won 6-2, 6-3 over the Southwest Regional champion to finish his weekend 2-1 against some of the nation's very best.
"The guys put together a great ITA Cup," said Head Coach
Dr. Tommy Valentini ' 02. "In singles, Marco competed at a very high level in both of his matches, and made some great progress with his game. After running into a white-hot opponent in his first match, Gage came away with two solid wins - he was gritty and composed against Whitman and played some beautiful tennis with his well-rounded game against Trinity."
Christensen and Siviero needed one victory to advance to the ITA Cup Doubles National Championship, but fell short at the hands of Denison's Ethan Green and Kael Shalin Shah Saturday afternoon. Just as they had in both of their matches the days before, the Gustie tandem once again played in a first set breaker, coming up short, 8-6, to give Denison the 7-6 set one win. Green and Shah claimed set two, 6-1, to punch a ticket to the title match, while Siviero and Christensen finish the weekend as All-Americans and semifinalists once more.
"In the doubles, Josh and Marco competed with incredible trust and poise" continued Valentini. "They trusted themselves, each other, and our plan, and handled the close moments in their first two tight matches beautifully to make the semis and earn All-America honors for the second consecutive year. They bring so much experience and leadership to our team - it was a joy to see them operate in this event.
"Overall, we're thankful for the opportunity to have these guys playing this great event and for the experience and growth it can give us as we head into the spring."
