SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women's tennis team began its fall season Saturday, hosting Grinnell, St. Catherine, and a trio of NCAA Division II schools for the annual Gustavus Fall Invite. The Gusties came away with a number of victories on day one, with championships still to be played on Sunday. 

The tournament features athletes from MSU-Mankato, MSU-Moorhead, Sioux Falls, Grinnell, St. Catherine, and Gustavus, competing in seven singles draws and four doubles draws with a champion and consolation champion in each bracket. 

The Gusties collected 21 of 22 first round singles victories, led by Karina Elvestrom (Fy., Minnetonka), Molly Austin (Jr., Arden Hills), and Kaya De Bruijn (Jr., Maasland, Netherlands), who each faced the opposing teams' top opponents. Elvestrom, in her collegiate tournament debut, defeated Luzmary Diaz of Moorhead 6-1, 6-1 for the first win of the day. The first-year went on to defeat teammate Austin in round two, and will face Grinnell's Paige Sargent, who defeated De Bruijn in the semifinal, on Sunday for the draw one championship. 

Draw two was highlighted by a perfect 6-0, 6-0 sweep from Noor Omar (Fy., Fridley) against future conference opponent Faith Simon of St. Catherine. Omar fell to Pari Chavan of Grinnell in the semifinal, with Chavan set to face Allison Szalay (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa) for the draw two title. 

Maya Brakhage (Fy., Boulder, Colo.) Pavla Yakimova (Jr., Glasgow, Scotland), and Rika Cross (Fy., Hemet, Calif.) all advanced to the championship in their draws as well, with Yakimova and Cross set to face each other in draw four, while Brakhage will take on Grinnell's Anika Sheth in draw three. 

Singles draw five and seven both feature an all-Gustie championship, with Madison Packer (Jr., Wadena) set to face Veranique Poquette (So., Champlin) and Taylor Ruhl (Jr., Brainerd) competing against teammate Tyra Gustavson (Fy., Madison, Wis.) in draw seven. 

In doubles play, the Gusties advanced eight teams to the semifinals, which will be held Sunday. The team of De Bruijn and Elvestrom picked up an 8-4 win over DII Moorhead, while Szalay and Austin added another Division II victory, with an 8-1 win over Sioux Falls. 

Doubles draw two will feature at least one Gustie team, with the pairs of Alli Laux (5th, Onalaska, Wis.) / Bethany Smith (So., Maple Grove), Brakhage / Lanie Davis (Fy., St. Louis, Mo.), and Ella De Young (So., Iowa City, Iowa) / Omar all competing in the semifinal. 

"It was a great first day of competition for the season," said Head Coach Jon Carlson. "I'm extremely proud of how hard everyone played and competed. The best thing that came out of our first day today was that the team realized we can be very successful this season, and we will also have a lot of fun."

The Gusties return to the courts tomorrow, with matches played both indoors and outdoors at the Swanson Tennis Center starting at 9 a.m.