SAINT PETER, Minn. - For the 13th consecutive season and 16th time overall, Gustavus men's tennis has won the MIAC playoff championship. The Gusties, ranked No. 14 in Division III, rolled to a 5-0 win over Carleton on Saturday at the Wilkinson Tennis Complex, improving to 22-7 overall. Gustavus has punched its ticket to the NCAA Championships and will find out who, when, and where it will play during the selection show at 11:30 a.m. Monday.
After an hour delay due to wet courts, the Gusties got on the board quickly as
Caleb Fridinger and
Dominik Knutson won 8-1 at No. 3 doubles for the first point of the match.
Josh Christensen and
Marco Siviero followed with an 8-3 win at No. 2, while
Gage Gohl and
Tyler Haddorff finished off the sweep with an 8-5 win at No. 1.
Jack Bergmeyer was dominant at No. 5 singles, winning 6-0, 6-0 in just 47 minutes for a 4-0 Gustie lead. The attention was then placed on Court 2 as Christensen clinched the match with a decisive 6-1, 6-1 win. The Gusties had second set leads in three of the four remaining singles matches.
"The guys were fantastic today," Head Coach
Tommy Valentini said. "We put together a great team effort in every phase. In the doubles we got out to a great start. Caleb and Dom were electric to get us on the board at number three. At one and two, Gage and Tyler, and Marco and Josh got to our game right away and we were solid in the close moments at every turn. Once we had the momentum, we executed well in the singles. Jack put together a masterful performance to score the fourth point, and Josh was great in getting us over the line. We stayed poised throughout the day, and we got tremendous support and belief from our players on the sidelines to complete a full team effort. We're grateful for how the guys all handled the moment and stuck together, and to be able to welcome the fun and to embrace the opportunity of the NCAA tournament."
