SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus College women's tennis team hosted the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional Championship this past weekend, concluding with the championship matches on Monday. The Gustie duo of
Karina Elvestrom and
Kaya De Bruijn won the doubles championship and Elvestrom took the singles title, securing both ITA All-American honors and a ticket to the ITA Cup later this fall for each of them.
Elvestrom and De Bruijn started their doubles championship run on Friday with an 8-0 victory against Bethel's Elisabeth Langhus and Payton Douglas. The pair went on to take two more matches on Saturday, winning 8-4 over Carroll's Natasa Pupovac and Katherine Trifilio and then 8-3 against UW-La Crosse's Lily Jorgenson and Caitlyn Stadter. In the semifinals on Sunday, Elvestrom and De Bruijn punched their ticket to the title match with an 8-2 victory over UW-Whitewater's Gracie Ha and Abigail Weaver. The Gustie duo went on to earn their second-consecutive ITA Midwest Regional Doubles Championship with a 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 comeback victory on Monday over Bethel's Lauryn Douglas and Michaella Sullivan, securing doubles All-American honors for each of them.
In the singles bracket, Elvestrom opened her title run with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep of UW-Superior's Elif Oezen and then a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Coe's Addison Leasure on Friday. The sophomore went on to win 6-1, 6-1 over Luther's Abby Ostermann on Saturday. She then swept UW-La Crosse's Tasha Baily 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and defeated Carthage's Xingchen Liu 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals on Sunday. In Monday's championship match, Elvestrom battled her doubles partner De Bruijn for the singles title, ultimately clinching her second-consecutive ITA Midwest Regional Singles Championship with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 victory. With her singles title, Elvestrom earned her second singles All-American award and her fourth overall All-American honor.
"Our team had one of the best weekends we have had in a very long time," said Gustavus head coach
Jon Carlson. "It was exciting to have so many players advancing so far in the draw. With 246 players entered in the tournament, for our players to go as far as they did, I couldn't be prouder as a coach. I'm proud of everyone on the team, and a huge congratulations goes to Karina and Kaya for winning doubles and then playing each other in the singles final. We haven't had two Gustavus players in the singles final for a long time."
Many Gusties found success at the regional championships. In doubles, the team of
Allison Szalay and
Molly Austin reached the semifinals. The three Gustie duos of
Bethany Smith and
Maya Brakhage,
Lanie Davis and
Ella De Young, and
Jemima Vitou and
Savannah Rosenhan each reached the doubles quarterfinals. Additionally, the pair of
Pavla Yakimova and
Noor Omar made the round of 16.
In singles, both Austin and Omar won three matches to make the quarterfinals.
Rika Cross,
Madison Packer, Rosenhan, De Young, and Davis each also won singles matches for Gustavus.
Up next for the Gusties is the Creighton/Omaha Invite in Omaha, Nebraska starting Friday, September 26. For both Elvestrom and De Bruijn, the ITA Cup will take place in Rome, Georgia at the Rome Tennis Center starting Thursday, October 16 and running until Sunday, October 19.
"Both Karina and Kaya are excited to head back to the ITA fall nationals in a few weeks, down in Georgia," said Carlson. "Having the experience of going last year should only help them perform even better this time around. It bodes well for the spring season to have the quality depth we have on our team this year. Heading into the spring, we are excited to make a run for another conference championship and a strong showing in the NCAA tournament."
