SAINT PETER, Minn. - For the second consecutive night, No. 16 Gustavus men's tennis had a tightly-contested battle against a formidable opponent, but fell 5-2. On Saturday night at the Swanson Tennis Center, the Gusties lost to No. 7 Emory University in the consolation semifinals of the 2025 ITA National Team Indoor Championships. 

Emory started the match with a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles, but the Gusties charged back to claim the sole doubles point with identical 7-6 (7-4) wins at No. 1, by Gage Gohl aand Tyler Haddorff, and at No. 3, by Dominik Knutson and Taona Mhwandagara. 

The Eagles then took a 2-1 lead with swift wins at Nos. 2 and 3, before Knutson tied it up 2-2 with a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 4. Emory jumped back in front 3-2 with a straight set win at No. 1, putting all the attention on courts five and six. 

Both Rafael de Camargo Costa and Mhwandagara lost their first sets 6-2, but both bounced back to win the second - Costa 6-2 at No. 5 and Mhwandagara 7-5 at No. 6. The Gusties needed both to win in the third set for the match victory, but Emory claimed both third sets by scores of 6-3. 

"The guys took another big step forward tonight," said Head Coach Dr. Tommy Valentini. "We played strong doubles and found ourselves in tie breaks at one and three - with the double point on the line. Both Tyler and Gage, and Taona and Dom, with the help of our entire team, welcomed the challenge and embraced the moment beautifully to take both breakers and the key point. 

"In the singles, the top of Emory's lineup played excellent tennis against us. Hats off to them - our top three guys battled hard, but we came up just short there.  

"Tonight our big push in the singles came from excellent efforts at four, five, and six. Domink was fantastic in all phases of his game and handled an experienced and talented opponent to get us on the board in the singles. Despite coming up short in tough three-setters, Rafa and Taona were tremendous for us tonight. They showed toughness and courage to give our team a great look at it as the match came down the stretch. We weren't quite able to get it over the line on the scoreboard, but we made great progress as a group tonight. Our guys on the sidelines were fantastic tonight again and gave the guys on court so much belief. To play another match of this caliber at this special event was a joy for us. We'll learn from it, build on it, and look to recover quickly and well to get ready to enjoy another very tough challenge tomorrow."

Gustavus now will face No. 11 Trinity University at 11 a.m. Sunday in the seventh place match. 
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