SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women's tennis team continued ITA Midwest Regionals Sunday, with quarter and semifinals for singles and the doubles semifinals and championship. The Gusties won all of their matches against opposing teams on the third day of tournament competition, including the doubles title, which featured an all-Gustie field.

Karina Elvestrom (Fy., Minnetonka) continued to impress in her first official weekend of collegiate tennis, starting her day off with no easy task in the singles quarterfinals, facing Pari Chavan of Grinnell. Chavan, seeded at No. 9 in the tournament, made her way to Elvestrom via a three-set come-from-behind win over the No. 5 seed Sam Fuchs of UW-Eau Claire the day before. Chavan is no stranger to Saint Peter, having won one of the singles draws in last weekend's Division II tournament at the Swanson Tennis Center, defeating three Gusties in the process. Chavan took set one, 4-6, but the first-year wasn't to be counted out, claiming a 6-4 victory of her own. In the third and final set, Elvestrom emerged victorious, winning 6-3 to advance to the semifinals. 

The Minnetonka native was nowhere near done for the day, facing MIAC opponent Kelsey Dorr of St. Catherine in the semis. Elvestrom made quick work of her match, winning 6-1, 6-3 over Dorr to punch a ticket to the singles championship, which will be played Monday, Sept. 23, at 10 a.m.

The Gusties were nothing if not dominant in the doubles, with the two competing teams, in opposite sides of the bracket, cruising to victories against MIAC opponents. Molly Austin (Jr., Arden Hills) and Allison Szalay (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa) collected an impressive 8-2 victory over Bethel, who was kept out of both singles and doubles finals Sunday. 

Elvestrom collected her third victory of the day, as she, along with partner Kaya De Bruijn (Jr., Maasland, Netherlands) upset the No. 1-seeded Asfaw and Nechiporuk of Carleton. De Bruijn and Elvestrom systematically defeated the Knights, picking up an 8-3 win to set the stage for an all-Gustie doubles championship. 

The two Gustavus teams gave fans a treat, playing to a third set breaker - the second weekend in a row the top two Gustie teams have dueled to three sets. The junior duo of Ausin and Szalay dominated set one, winning 6-2 over their teammates. De Bruijn and Elvestrom picked up the set two victory to force a breaker, winning 7-5. The two doubles pairings battled for All-America status to the last serve, with Elvestrom and De Bruijn once again claiming the victory, 10-8, in the breaker.

"This was as good of a weekend we've had at ITAs in a long time," said Head Coach Jon Carlson '88. "I'm very proud of everyone, from the top of the team all the way down. They all competed well and really showed improvement from a month ago. Our goal this weekend was to make sure that we had a great performance at this tournament, and the team as a whole came through. Their support for each other was outstanding, and made a significant difference in our success."

The finals win earns Elvestrom and De Bruijn All-America status, the 892nd and 893rd All-American honors in Gustavus Athletics history. The two bring the women's tennis program award total to 52, becoming the team's first All-Americans since Ginger Valentine '21 earned the status in 2021. Both doubles teams have earned a spot in this season's fall ITA Cup, as well as Elvestrom in the singles competition. A win in the first round of the national tournament, which will take place Oct. 11-13 in Georgia, earns the athlete All-America laurels. 

Elvestrom will look to add another accolade tomorrow morning, facing Carthage's Xingchen Liu, the No. 3 seed in the tournament, in the singles final.