BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Gustavus first-year Karina Elvestrom (Minnetonka, Minn.) was named both the MIAC Rookie of the Year and one half of the MIAC Doubles Team of the Year with Kaya De Bruijn (Jr., Maasland, Netherlands), Jon Carlson '88 collected his 11th Coach of the Year Award, and four Gusties earned seven All-MIAC honors when the 2024-25 MIAC Women's Tennis Awards were announced on Tuesday, May 6.

All-Conference honors are awarded to athletes in both singles and doubles. The top three singles players and a combination of the top two doubles teams were selected as All-MIAC, while three others were named Honorable Mention in both singles and doubles. The MIAC Playoff Championship Gusties landed a trio of athletes on the All-Playoff Team, as well.

Elvestrom was chosen as the Rookie of the Year after playing at the No. 1 singles and doubles spot for the Gusties all season, compiling a 5-2 record in conference singles play and unblemished 9-0 record with De Bruijn at doubles. After claiming two All-America awards in her first weekend of collegiate tennis, Elvestrom earned a No. 14 national ranking for the majority of the season. She is 19-12 in all singles matches this season, 13-9 in dual play, and 2-4 against regionally-ranked players.

She and De Bruijn compiled the best doubles record in the conference, going a perfect 9-0 against MIAC opponents. After earning ITA All-American honors in the fall, the duo, in their first season playing together, were ranked as high as No. 12 in the country and ended the regular season at No. 24, likely looking at a bid to the NCAA individual tournament after posting a 23-7 overall record. They are 17-5 in dual play, 7-4 against regionally-ranked opponents, and have won nine of their last 10 completed matches heading into the national tournament. In addition to their major awards, she and De Bruijn were both selected as All-Conference singles and doubles.

In singles play, De Bruijn compiled a record of 7-1, going 7-0 from the No. 2 spot with her only MIAC loss to nationally-ranked Kelsey Dorr of St. Catherine at No. 1. Overall, the junior went 19-8 in singles play, tied for the most wins among the team, and 17-7 in dual match play. She has won her last eight singles matches, two of which clinched MIAC championships for the Gusties over Carleton in both the playoffs and regular season.  

Molly Austin (Jr., Arden Hills, Minn.) rounded out the All-MIAC singles selections, as the Gusties' No. 3 played an undefeated season in the conference. She is one of three athletes in the MIAC tied for the most individual singles wins without a loss, joining Carleton's Singles Player of the Year Amela Asfaw and Knight teammate Kiley Pickens. Austin claimed six of her nine wins behind Elvestrom and De Bruijn at No. 3, the other three between the top two spots in the line-up. She won all of her conference matches in two sets, never surrendering more than four games to an opponent.

Doubles All-Conference honorees included Elvestrom, De Bruijn, Austin, and Allison Szalay (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa). Austin and Szalay started the season at No. 2 for the Gusties, posting a 3-0 record in league play before a line-up change paired Lanie Davis (Fy., St. Louis, Mo.) with Austin and Szalay with Ella De Young (So., Iowa City, Iowa) at No. 3. Austin and Davis then went 5-0 at No. 2 and Szalay and De Young 4-0 overall, with three of those wins at No. 3. 

Overall, Austin and Szalay were 10-6 as doubles partners. Davis and Austin compiled an 11-1 record so far, having not dropped a match as partners since March 9. Szalay is 18-9 in doubles play overall, playing matches with five different partners and at all three positions. She and De Young are 7-1 overall.

Davis and lone Gustie senior Brooke Haddorff (Burnsville, Minn.) were both named to the honorable mention team for both singles and doubles competition. Davis, in her rookie season, went 5-1 in conference singles play and 3-1 at the No. 4 position. She and Austin were also 5-0 against league opponents in doubles. Overall, Davis has dropped just four singles matches all season, compiling a 17-4 record, having played at every position except No. 3. She's 8-1 in her last nine matches. 

Haddorff, meanwhile, was 14-4 overall in singles play, with eight of those wins at No. 6 and six in conference matches. Her and partner Pavla Yakimova (Jr., Glasgow, Scotland) compiled a 5-0 conference record, with four wins in the three spot for the Gusties. 

First-year Noor Omar (Fridley, Minn.), who has spent the most time as the No. 5 singles player for the Gusties this season, joined Davis and Haddorff with All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors in singles. Omar went 6-1 in the MIAC and has gone 17-8 overall.

Yakimova, with six wins at doubles in 10 possible conference matches, was also selected as an honorable mention doubles player. Playing with both Szalay and Haddorff, she went undefeated in the league schedule and 17-4 this season. Ten of her wins came at doubles spot three, and 16 of them came with Haddorff by her side. 

Three Gusties were named to the MIAC All-Playoff team, as Austin, Davis, and De Bruijn earned the selection for their play last week in the conference tournament. 

Austin was nearly perfect in her two matches, defeating Carleton's No. 3 in the championship in the only Gustie singles win in two sets, and was leading St. Olaf's No. 3 in the semifinal 6-1, 5-2 when the team clinched the victory. She and Davis claimed 6-0 and 6-1 wins at No. 2 doubles in both matches. Davis, meanwhile, battled through both of her singles performances, contesting Olaf's No. 4 6-4, 4-3 before play halted. She clinched a crucial win for the Gusties in the title match, winning set one 6-4 before dropping the second set by the same score. She rallied in the third for another 6-4 victory to tie the match at three apiece for the two teams, setting the stage for De Bruijn.

De Bruijn played one of the best matches of the playoff championship, winning the title at No. 2 singles for the Gusties after falling behind in the first set, 4-6. She posted scores of 6-3 and 6-2 in sets two and three for the deciding point, punching the team's ticket to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018. She also won 6-2, 6-3 against Olaf's No. 2. 

De Bruijn and Elvestrom are the first Gusties to be selected as the Doubles Team of the Year since the award was created in the 2022-23 season. Elvestrom is the second from the program to win Rookie of the Year, joining teammate Austin, who won the inaugural award in 2023. The All-MIAC selection in singles and doubles is the third for Austin, who has been recognized in each of her three seasons. De Bruijn's All-Conference honors are her second, having been named to both the singles and doubles teams last year, while Szalay collected her third consecutive doubles award. Both Yakimova and Haddorff now own three honorable mention honors each, while the Gustie first-years all collected the first awards of their young careers. 

Head coach Jon Carlson '88 rounded out the major awards for the team, collecting his 11th Coach of the Year title and first since 2021-22. Carlson led the Gusties back to the conference title sweep for the first time in seven years, never dropping a doubles match against a MIAC opponent at any position. The all-time winningest coach in Division III tennis history, Carlson eclipsed victory 700 this season, becoming the first women's coach to reach the milestone all at the DIII level. He ranks sixth among all collegiate women's tennis coaches for wins in NCAA history, and is the third-winningest active coach in all divisions of collegiate tennis behind only North Carolina's Brian Kalbas and Lynn's Mike Perez. 

His regular season title, clinched outright on April 27, marked the 29th time the Gusties have gone without a loss in the MIAC and the 25th for Carlson, who earned his 50th regular season championship and 25th with the women's tennis program. Carlson, who has won 25 with the Gustavus swimming & diving teams (13 men, 12 women), ranks second among MIAC coaches all-time for the most championships won, and first among both active MIAC coaches and all-time coaches at current institutions. Only St. Thomas' Joe Sweeney has more in his career, with 85 between the Tommie men's and women's cross country and track & field teams (indoor and outdoor). This is the 23rd time between his three teams that Carlson has been selected as the MIAC Coach of the Year (11 women's tennis, seven men's swim & dive, five women's swim & dive). He was named the Women's Swimming & Diving Coach of the Year earlier this season.

Carleton's No. 1 Amelia Asfaw (15-3, 9-0 MIAC) was named the Singles Player of the Year, while St. Olaf's Olha Zubarieva (10-9, 4-6 MIAC) earned the Chris Evert Award, which annually recognizes a senior women's tennis student-athlete who exhibits outstanding sportsmanship and exemplary athletic, academic, and humanitarian accomplishments.

The Gusties (26-7, 10-0 MIAC) begin NCAA tournament play at 10 a.m. Friday, May 9. The team travels to Chicago with a first-round bye, facing either No. 35 Hope (Mich.) or UW-Superior. The Gusties met both teams already this season, defeating Superior 7-0 on March 22 before a 5-2 win over Hope in round one of the annual Midwest Invite on April 4. Friday's winner will face the other half of the bracket, which features No. 1 U Chicago, North Central (Ill.), and Coe (Iowa), for a Saturday regional championship.