SAINT PETER, Minn. – The No. 22 Gustavus women's tennis team had a busy Saturday, hosting a trio of matches at the Swanson Tennis Center on Feb. 15. The Gusties won all three convincingly, defeating Northwestern-Iowa 7-0, Saint Mary's 9-0, and Bethany Lutheran 7-0.
Gustavus 7, Northwestern-Iowa 0
The Gusties (6-3, 2-0 MIAC) led off the day against NAIA Northwestern-Iowa (5-3, overall), and dealt the Raiders a convincing 7-0 loss. Reigning MIAC Athlete of the Week
Noor Omar (Fy., Fridley, Minn.) and doubles partner
Maya Brakhage (Fy., Boulder, Colo.) collected the first win of the day, a 6-0 win at the No. 2 spot.
Bethany Smith (So., Maple Grove, Minn.) and
Brooke Haddorff (Sr., Burnsville, Minn.) were next, posting the next 6-0 score at the No. 3 spot, followed by a 6-1 victory for
Lanie Davis (Fy., St. Louis, Mo.) and
Ella De Young (So., Iowa City, Iowa).
In singles play, both Haddorff and
Rika Cross (Fy., Hemet, Calif.) swept their counterparts, going 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 and No. 5. Brakhage added a commanding 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 4, while
Pavla Yakimova (Jr., Glasgow, Scotland) won by a pair of 6-1 scores at No. 2.
Katie Thompson (Fy., Darlington, England) collected a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 6, while Davis closed things out in the top singles spot, 6-2, 6-4.
Gustavus 9, Saint Mary's 0
The Gusties continued their hot streak in their second match of the day, picking up the team's second conference victory, 9-0 over Saint Mary's (6-2, 0-1 MIAC).
The match-up of the day was certainly in the No. 1 singles spot, as
Karina Elvestrom (Fy., Minnetonka, Minn.) faced former teammate
Alli Laux '24, who is completing her graduate degree and NCAA eligibility at Saint Mary's. Elvestrom won by a pair of 6-3 scores.
Kaya De Bruijn (Jr., Maasland, Netherlands) won 6-0, 6-3 in the No. 2 spot, while
Molly Austin (Jr., Arden Hills, Minn.) claimed a 6-2, 6-0 win in the three spot.
Omar (No. 4) and De Young (No. 5) added victories of 6-1, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-1, respectively, while Brakhage swept at No. 6 by a pair of 6-0 wins.
In doubles play, Elvestrom and De Bruijn defeated Laux and Elena Ruzevich at No. 1 by a perfect 8-0, followed by an 8-1 win at No. 3 for the tandem of Haddorff and Yakimova. Austin and
Allison Szalay (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa) finished the doubles sweep with an 8-4 win at No. 2.
Gustavus 7, Bethany Lutheran 0
In the third match of the day, the Gusties claimed a 7-0 win over Bethany Lutheran (0-6 overall), claiming two points by default and one by retirement in the victory.
Cross and doubles partner
Tyra Gustavson (Fy., Madison, Wis.) won 6-0 for the first doubles victory over the Vikings at No. 2, while
Annie Klemmensen (So., Edina, Minn.) and Thompson won 6-3 at No. 1.
Smith,
Madison Packer (Jr., Wadena, Minn.),
Ashley Stroebel (Jr., Maplewood, Minn.), and
Taylor Ruhl (Jr., Brainerd, Minn.) finished the perfect day with four two-set victories over BLC.
The Gusties are off for the next week before taking their spring break trip to Texas, facing Mary Hardin Baylor (1-1 overall), Concordia-Austin (4-1 overall), No. 25 Southwestern (3-0, 3-0 SCAC), No. 14 Trinity (4-1 overall), No. 10 MIT (1-0 overall), and No. 16 Wash U (3-0 overall) from March 4-9.
