NICOLASVILLE, Ky. — The Gustavus men's tennis team finished sixth at the 2024 ITA National Team Indoor Championships after falling to regional rival and nationally-ranked No. 8 U Chicago on Sunday morning. The Gusties won the doubles point and
Gage Gohl won at No. 4 singles for an eventual 4-2 final.
"Our group put together a great weekend on the national stage," said Head Coach
Tommy Valentini. "We played hard against a loaded Emory team that eventually took the title, and we did a lot of good things in that match that allowed us to build."
The Gusties started off strong against the Maroons, impressing in the doubles with two of three victories.
Marco Siviero and
Josh Christensen won at No. 1 7-5, followed by a
Gage Gohl/
Tyler Haddorff victory at No. 2, 6-2.
Jack Bergmeyer and
Dominik Knutson dropped the third doubles matchup 6-3.
Gohl came away with the only singles victory for the Gusties, winning in straight sets, 6-3 and 6-2, over U Chicago's Pat Otero. Three of the singles matches went to three sets, as the Gusties gave the Maroons all they could handle, but ultimately came up just short.
Caleb Fridinger and Knutson nearly pulled off two comeback victories in the five and six singles, but dropped the third set to Chicago 6-0 for Knutson and 6-4 for Fridinger.
"Our response against Trinity in Saturday was outstanding. We competed the way we wanted to in the doubles and came up just short there, but we stuck to our plan, stayed present and pushed back beautifully. To sweep the singles in an event of this magnitude was a great accomplishment for our guys, but more impressive than the result was the toughest and trust with which our entire group competed.
"Against Chicago, we put together another complete team effort against another talented opponent. Gage and Tyler were excellent at No. 2 doubles and Marco and Josh showed amazing grit to stick with it and come from a break down against a talented pair to get their match and get us the doubles point. In the singles we showed guts and poise right down to the very end. Gage played beautifully to get us the second point, and Marco was in the drivers seat after some very solid competing at No. 1 in his third three setter of the weekend. It wasn't to be on Caleb's court today, but he played an outstanding and competed with tremendous maturity to give us a look at it in the end.
"We came up just short on the scoreboard today, but overall this weekend we took some important steps as a group in a number of key areas. Most of all we embraced the challenge of being a part of this tough filed in this great event, and we stuck together and trusted each other at every turn. We have a lot of guys in new and expanded roles from a year ago, and this weekend we grew into those roles in meaningful ways. We'll look to recover well and continue working on our game so we're ready for the challenging schedule we have ahead."
The No. 12 Gusties return to Saint Peter with an overall record of 5-3, and resume MIAC play next Saturday, facing St. Olaf on the road, while hosting Luther at the Swanson Tennis Center.
