SAINT PETER, Minn. – No. 21 Gustavus women's tennis defeated St. Olaf 4-0 to advance to its fifth consecutive MIAC Playoff Championship on Friday, May 2 at the Swanson Tennis Center.
The Gusties (25-7, 10-0 MIAC), who earned the top seed and home-court advantage via the regular season title and undefeated league record, won the doubles point and Nos. 6, 1, and 2 singles over St. Olaf (13-4, 7-3 MIAC) en route to their 16th championship match appearance.
Gustavus made quick work of doubles, as the duos at Nos. 2 and 3 won in just over 20 minutes of match play.
Molly Austin (Jr., Arden Hills, Minn.) and
Lanie Davis (Fy., St. Louis, Mo.) claimed the first win, a perfect 6-0, at No. 2, followed by the same score at No. 3 for
Allison Szalay (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa) and
Ella De Young (So., Iowa City, Iowa).
Karina Elvestrom (Fy., Minnetonka, Minn.) and
Kaya De Bruijn (Jr., Maasland, Netherlands), the 24th-ranked doubles team in the nation in this week's ITA polls, were trailing 2-3 at No. 1 when doubles play came to a halt.
Brooke Haddorff (Sr., Burnsville, Minn.) turned a quick match at No. 6 to open up singles play, cruising to a pair of 6-0 scores in just over 44 minutes of play. Elvestrom earned singles win two, 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1, while De Bruijn won at No. 2 by scores of 6-2 and 6-3.
Austin, Davis, and
Noor Omar (Fy., Fridley, Minn.) were all up in their second sets after winning the first when De Bruijn clinched the victory.
Gustavus will host No. 30 Carleton (15-3, 9-1 MIAC) for the title match tomorrow, May 3, in Saint Peter. The Gusties claimed a 6-3 victory over the Knights – their first win in five meetings – on April 19 in Northfield.
A doubles sweep and wins at No. 2 (De Bruijn), No. 3 (Austin), and No. 5 (Omar) earned Gustavus its first win over Carleton since the 2021-22 season. The Knights claimed last season's playoff title with a 5-1 win, and advanced back to the championship with a 4-1 win over No. 41 Bethel (14-5, 8-2 MIAC).
Gustavus is 8-7 in all-time playoff championship matches, with a league-high eight titles and 17 playoff appearances. The team has gone without a title since 2018, while Carleton has collected four of the last five (2019, 2022, 2023, 2024).
