KEARNEY, Neb. – The No. 20 nationally ranked Gustavus Adolphus College women's tennis team split their squad to take on four different NCAA Division II or NAIA opponents in Nebraska on Saturday.
Half the team traveled to Kearney to battle the University of Nebraska at Kearney Lopers (DII) and the McPherson College Bulldogs (NAIA). The other half of the team went to Mandan for matches against the University of Mary Mauraders (DII) and the University of Jamestown Jimmies (DII).
The Gusties won three of the four matches, defeating UMary 5-2, McPherson 6-1, and Jamestown 5-2 but falling 4-3 to Nebraska-Kearney as Gustavus moved to 6-1 on the season.
Match 1 vs. Nebraska-Kearney Lopers (DII)
Karina Elvestrom and
Kaya De Bruijn won the #1 doubles match for the Gusties, but the Lopers took the #2 and #3 matches to secure the doubles point.
In singles, Gustavus won three matches. De Bruijn earned a 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5) win in the #2 match.
Molly Austin won the #3 singles match 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.
Lanie Davis took the #5 singles match 7-6 (8-6), 6-1. Nebraska-Kearney took the other singles matches to secure a 4-3 team win.
Match 2 vs. UMary Marauders (DII)
Katie Thompson and
Melat Tabara opened the doubles scoring with a 6-4 win at the #3 match. The Gusties secured the doubles team point with a 6-4 win at #1 by
Ella De Young and
Allison Szalay.
Ashley Stroebel gave Gustavus a 2-0 lead in the match with a 6-1, 6-3 win at #6 singles.
Madison Packer followed with a 6-2, 6-2 win at #4 singles to put the Gusties up 3-0. The Marauders took #2 singles to earn their first team point, but De Young then clinched the pivotal fourth team point for Gustavus with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at #1 singles to secure the team win.
Jemima Vitou added one more point to the Gusties' total with a 6-7 (6-8), 6-0, 1-0 (12-10) comeback victory at #5 singles as Gustavus won the match 5-2.
Match 3 vs. McPherson Bulldogs (NAIA)
The Gusties opened the match with a sweep of doubles.
Noor Omar and
Maya Brakhage earned a 6-0 sweep at #3 doubles to start. Elvestrom and De Bruijn followed with a 6-1 victory at #1 doubles. Austin and Davis completed the 3-0 doubles sweep with a 6-3 win in the #2 match, securing the doubles team point for Gustavus.
Elvestrom kept up the momentum with a 6-0, 6-1 win at #1 singles. De Bruijn followed with a 6-3, 6-4 win at # 2 singles to put the Gusties up 3-0 in the team match. Molly secured the victory for Gustavus over the Bulldogs with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) win at #3 singles for the fourth team point.
Davis followed with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep of #5 singles to earn a fifth team point for the Gusties. Omar added one more win at #5 singles, taking the match 6-3, 6-2 to clinch one more point. McPherson took the final match at #6 singles, but Gustavus nonetheless earned a 6-1 team victory.
Match 4 vs. Jamestown Jimmies (DII)
Pavla Yakimova and Vitou won #2 doubles 6-2 to put Gustavus up one in the contest for the doubles team point. Jamestown evened doubles at 1-1 with a win in the #1 match, but Packer and Stroebel clinched the doubles team point for the Gusties with a 6-4 victory in the #3 match.
Stroebel continued the success for Gustavus by winning the first singles point, taking the #6 match 6-1, 6-0. The Jimmies then tied the match at 2-2 after winning both #1 and #2 singles. Packer gave the Gusties a 3-2 lead with a 6-3, 6-4 win at #4 singles, pulling Gustavus within one point of the team victory. Vitou clinched the fourth team point for the Gusties with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 comeback win at #5 singles, securing the team victory for Gustavus.
Yakimova added one more point for the Gusties with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 win at #3 singles to close out the 5-2 Gustavus victory.
Up Next
Gustavus is set to play two more matches on the road Sunday morning as half the team is in Fargo, North Dakota for a match against the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (DII) at 9:00 a.m. while the other half is in Omaha, Nebraska to take on the Creighton University Blue Jays (DI) at 10:00 a.m.
