SAINT PETER, Minn. – The No. 21 nationally ranked Gustavus Adolphus College men's tennis team battled the No. 1 Denison University Big Red on Friday night in the opening round of the ITA DIII National Men's Team Indoor Championship. The Gusties took a 2-0 lead over the top-ranked team in the nation but ultimately fell 5-2.
Gustavus jumped out to a 1-0 lead by earning the doubles point over Denison.
Owen Skanse and
Noah Hakim won #3 doubles 6-2 to put the Gusties ahead in the race for the doubles point. The Big Red evened the doubles score with a narrow 7-6 (7-3) victory in the #1 match. The doubles point came down to the #2 match, where
Takura Mhwandagara and
Dominik Knutson earned a hard-fought 7-6 (7-5) victory to give Gustavus a 1-0 lead in the match heading into singles.
Knutson gave the Gusties a 2-0 lead over Denison with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at #2 singles. Gustavus needed just two more wins in singles to upset the No. 1 team in the nation and looked be on the way there as the Gusties won the opening set in three of the remaining five matches still being played. However, the Big Red rallied in each of the remaining matches to secure five of the six singles matches for a 5-2 victory over Gustavus.
Up next for the Gusties is day two of the ITA Team Championship where they will compete in the consolation bracket against Emory University starting at 6:30 p.m. at Swanson Tennis Center.
