FARGO, N.D. – No. 24 Gustavus women's tennis made the trip north to Fargo Sunday, Feb. 9, opening the MIAC season against Concordia and competing against its second Division II team of the weekend in MSU-Moorhead. The Gusties (3-3, 1-0 MIAC) came away with a pair of wins, 9-0 against the Cobbers, and 6-1 against the DII Dragons.
Gustavus 9, Concordia 0
The Gusties were dominant to start the day against Concordia (0-6, 0-4 MIAC), sweeping all three doubles competitions and allowing only three points from the Cobbers in doubles play. Nationally-ranked
Karina Elvestrom (Fy., Minnetonka, Minn.) and
Kaya De Bruijn (Jr., Maasland, Netherlands) were efficient at No. 1, defeating Anna Hacker and Emma Farder 8-0 to start the day.
Lanie Davis (Fy., St. Louis, Mo.) and
Ella De Young (So., Iowa City, Iowa) claimed an 8-1 at No. 2, while
Noor Omar (Fy., Fridley, Minn.) and
Maya Brakhage (Fy., Boulder, Colo.) won 8-2 at No. 3.
In the singles competition,
Molly Austin (Jr., Arden Hills, Minn.), Omar, De Young,
Pavla Yakimova (Jr., Glasgow, Scotland), and
Brooke Haddorff (Sr., Burnsville, Minn.) all won by scores of 6-0, 6-0 over their conference counterparts. Davis completed the victory with a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 2.
Gustavus 6, MSU-Moorhead 1
The Gusties picked up their second win of the day against the Dragons (3-1 overall) just a few hours later, once again winning all three doubles matches. Elvestrom and De Bruijn won 6-1 at No. 1, followed by a 6-2 Austin/Davis victory at No. 2, and a 6-3 win at No. 3 for Yakimova and Haddorff.
Elvestrom (No. 1) and Omar (No. 4) won both of their singles matches in three sets, as Elvestrom defeated MSU's Shaelyn Johnson 6-3, 3-6, 10-6, while Omar picked up her third singles victory of the weekend, 4-6, 6-1, 10-8.
Austin (No. 3) and Haddorff (No. 6) each won by scores of 6-1, 6-1, while De Bruijn claimed the last singles victory for the Gusties, 6-0, 6-2.
"After a great match yesterday, the women had to get up early today for a long day, but picked up two big victories against Concordia and MSU-Moorhead," said Head Coach
Jon Carlson '88. "We're very pleased with how they competed and I'm very excited as we head into the weekend and the conference season.
"Yesterday was a tough match, but the women dominated today from start to finish. I am proud of the energy they brought despite a busy weekend and a long drive to Fargo, and I'm pleased with how they played smart and battled today."
The Gusties return for a weekend full of matches, starting with a non-conference tilt against NAIA Northwestern-Iowa (4-2 overall) at 8:30 a.m., followed by a 12:30 p.m. MIAC match against Saint Mary's (5-1 overall), and a pair of 3:30 p.m. matches as well. The Gusties will complete their trio of home matches against Bethany Lutheran (0-3 overall), while also sending a team to Virginia to face UM-Duluth (2-0, 1-0 NSIC).
