SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women's tennis team continued its biggest fall weekend Saturday, as the hosts of the ITA Midwest Regional Championships and the Midwest Invite played a total of 38 matches between the two tournaments. The Gusties advanced
Karina Elvestrom (Fy., Minnetonka) to the ITA singles quarterfinals, while a pair of doubles teams will play in the semifinals Sunday. On the final day of the Midwest Invite, the Gusties claimed five championships between the tournament and consolation draws.
ITA Midwest Regional Championships
In the singles competition Saturday morning, the Gusties claimed four of their first matches in the round of 32.
Kaya De Bruijn (Jr., Maasland, Netherlands) led things off with a 6-2, 6-1 victory.
Molly Austin (Jr., Arden Hills) followed suit, winning 6-2, 6-2 in her first match of the day. Elvestrom took on Grinnell's Kalra, claiming a 6-2, 7-6 victory, while first-year
Noor Omar (Fridley) upset St. Olaf's Olga Zubarieva, 6-3, 6-4. Zubarieva is the Oles' No. 1 singles player and was seeded at No. 9 entering the tournament. Elvestrom was the only Gustie to advance through her next round to the quarterfinals, as the first-year defeated UW-Whitewater's Gracie Ha 6-3, 6-0 to earn a spot in Sunday's singles play. De Bruijn fell in a heartbreaker, dropping her round of 16 match to Piper Brown 5-7, 6-2, 10-8. Austin lost her second singles set of the day to No. 3 seed Liu of Carthage, while Omar fell to the ITA-experienced Lauryn Douglas of Bethel, seeded No. 2 in the tournament, 6-1, 6-0.
In the doubles play, the Gusties had four teams competing Saturday.
Alli Laux (5th, Onalaska, Wis.) and
Bethany Smith (So., Maple Grove) fell to Grinnell's Jarvis and Perrin, 8-3, while the first-year duo of
Maya Brakhage (Boulder, Colo.) and
Lanie Davis (St. Louis, Mo.) saw their tournament end 8-4 against UW-La Crosse. De Bruijn and Elvestrom won 8-4 over St. Olaf to start their doubles day, and followed it up with an 8-3 victory over UW-Eau Claire's Fuchs and Lee. They'll face the team of Asfaw and Nechiporuk from Carleton - the top doubles team in the region.
Allison Szalay (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa) and Austin cruised past the Graves duo of Cornell 8-2 and No. 5 seed Bailey and Roth from UW-La Crosse, 8-1. They'll face Bethel's Douglas and Sullivan for an all-MIAC ITA doubles semifinals.
Midwest Invite and Consolation Draws
Gustavus claimed three Midwest Invite singles championships Saturday, as
Ashley Stroebel (Jr., Maplewood),
Veranique Poquette (So., Champlin), and Smith all won the title in their singles draws. Stroebel claimed a 6-1, 6-2 victory over UW-Stevens Point in draw two, while Poquette came from behind to win 3-6, 6-4, 10-7 over Luther. Smith added another win with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over St. Catherine's Erica Wing.
In doubles play, first-years
Katie Thompson (Darlington, England) and
Rika Cross (Hemet, Calif.) won 8-2 over Luther to win the draw one title. The Gustie doubles team of
Pavla Yakimova (Jr., Glasgow, Scotland) and
Brooke Haddorff (Sr., Burnsville) added one more title for the hosts with an 8-3 victory over Luther in the consolation doubles draw one.
ITA singles and doubles remain as the only competition left for the weekend. Singles quarterfinals and semifinals will take place Sunday morning, with doubles semifinals to follow in the afternoon. Doubles championships will also be played Sunday, with singles championships on Monday.
