SAINT PETER, Minn. - No. 12 Gustavus men's tennis suffered a 5-4 upset loss Friday to No. 22 UW-Whitewater at the Swanson Tennis Center. The Gusties drop to 7-4 overall, while the Warhawks improve to 8-2.
The Gusties started strong in doubles as
Gage Gohl and
Tyler Haddorff cruised to an 8-0 win at No. 2. The Warhawks evened the score with an 8-4 win at No. 3, but
Marco Siviero and
Josh Christensen battled for an 8-7 (9-7) win at the top spot for a 2-1 lead going into singles.
Whitewater took over the match in singles play, winning in straight sets at the one, two, and three spots.
Jack Bergmeyer won convincingly, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 6, and Gohl won a third set breaker 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) at No. 4, but the Warhawks closed out the match at No. 5 with a three-set victory.
"We're proud of how our team fought to the end tonight," Head Coach
Tommy Valentini said. "We competed hard and stuck with it all night. We just never fully got to our game - and full credit to Whitewater for that. They played an excellent match against us. We had a 2-1 lead after the doubles and they came out and played excellent singles - especially at the top. Full marks to them. There were a number of bright spots for us tonight that we can build on, and a number of areas where our group will learn a lot from the way this match unfolded. We're looking forward to growing from this one and to some great opportunities next week at home and at the Stag-Hen."
Gustavus is next in action March 15-16 at the Stag-Hen Invitational in Claremont, Calif.
