SAINT PETER, Minn. — The Gustavus women's tennis team hosted a Division I and II opponent Saturday, and walked away from the Swanson Tennis Center with a 1-1 split. The Gusties opened the day with a 6-3 win over DII Sioux Falls, before falling to DI Northern Iowa in the afternoon. The Gusties are now 2-2 in regular season matches this season.
In the morning match, three impressive wins in the doubles helped the Gusties jump out to a 3-0 advantage.
Molly Austin and
Allison Szalay won 8-0 in the No. 1 spot, followed by a 8-2 win for the duo of
Pavla Yakimova and
Brooke Haddorff, before
Kaya De Bruijn and
Bethany Smith wrapped up doubles play with an 8-5 victory.
In the singles, De Bruijn, Yakimova, and Haddorff added another win to their tally for the day for the eventual 6-3 final. De Bruijn won 6-1 and 6-3 at No. 3, while Haddorff closed out her No. 6 singles with a 6-4, 7-6 victory. In the No. 5 singles, Yakimova sealed the win, coming from behind to win 2-6, 6-1, 10-6.
The Gusties managed only one point against Division I University of Northern Iowa in the afternoon match. Much like Gustavus had done just a few hours earlier, the Panthers swept the Gusties in the doubles competition to earn the point.
Kaya De Bruijn walked away with the only singles victory, winning at No. 4, 6-2, 6-4, 10-1.
Alli Laux took the Panthers' Lorena Cardoso to three sets at No. 3 singles, but eventually fell 1-6, 6-2, 6-7.
"It was a great day for the team today," said Head Coach
Jon Carlson. "We learned a lot against Northern Iowa. Against Sioux Falls, we played really well and picked up a great win. Today should set us up for two strong Division III opponents in Luther and Grinnell next weekend."
The Gusties continue non-conference play over the next few weekends, hosting Luther and Grinnell next Saturday.
