SAINT PETER, Minn. and FARGO, N.D. - No. 16 Gustavus men's tennis played as a split squad on Saturday, falling 5-2 to the University of North Dakota at the Swanson Tennis Center before the second team captured a 9-0 at Concordia. The Gusties move to 1-3 overall and start MIAC play 1-0. 

North Dakota 5, Gustavus 2

Josh Christensen and Marco Siviero started the morning off with a 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles, but the Fighting Hawks earned the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3. Gage Gohl and Tyler Haddorff fought to a breaker at No. 1, but eventually fell 7-6. 

In singles play, North Dakota claimed its next two points at Nos. 2 and 3 with straight set wins before Haddorff earned a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 6. The Fighting Hawks went up 4-1 with a three-set win at No. 5 and then clinched the match with another three-set win at No. 1. Dominik Knutson closed out the match with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win at No. 4.

"The team competed extremely well today," said Head Coach Tommy Valentini. "Against UND we came out with great energy in the doubles. Marco and Josh were fantastic from start to finish and got to their game nicely to get us the win at two. We competed great at one and three but came up just short losing a tough breaker at one. Despite narrowly missing out on the doubles point, I loved how we competed. We stayed positive and calm and made a great push in the singles. Tyler played a great match tactically and mentally to get us on the board at six, and Dom showed a ton of poise and maturity to get over the line at four. We had great looks everywhere else - and Marco's level at one against a high end player was tremendous. Overall we played a good team match against a quality opponent. We made great strides today and will grow a lot from this one."

Gustavus 9, Concordia 0

The Gusties started off conference play with a convincing 9-0 win at Concordia. Noah Hakim and Owen Skanse started with an 8-2 win at No. 2 doubles. Ali Derbani and Yash Bahalkar followed with an 8-4 win at No. 2, while Rafael de Camargo Costa and Luke Fridinger secured the doubles sweep with an 8-5 win at No. 1. 

All singles from the top down - Costa, Fridinger, Hakim, Derbani, Bahalkar, and Skanse, respectively - won in straight sets. 

"Against Concordia, the guys showed a ton of grit," Valentini said. "We came out and executed well in doubles and with the 3-0 sweep we jumped on the momentum in the singles. Rafa and Luke showed great leadership to pace us at the top of the lineup and our young guys got their first experience in conference dual match play and they responded very well by executing our plan with trust and confidence. Overall we grateful for a great full team effort all day." 

Gustavus hosts Saint Mary's and UC-Santa Cruz next Saturday. 
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