http://www.miac-online.org/news/2013/5/4/MTEN_0504131348.aspx
ST. PETER, Minn. -- Saturday's busy day at the 2013 MIAC Men's
Tennis Playoffs started with a pair of semifinal matches on the
Gustavus campus in St. Peter, Minn. The top-seeded Gusties rolled
to victory to claim one spot in the championship match, while
second-seeded Carleton completed a dramatic comeback to beat No. 3
St. Thomas 5-4 in the most dramatic match of the tournament thus
far.
With both their victories, The Gusties and Knights set up a
showdown between the top two seeds for the title Saturday
afternoon. Gustavus (23-9), which defeated No. 5 Saint John's
(7-12) 5-0 in the semifinals, is seeking its third-straight MIAC
Playoff title and sixth postseason title in seven years, while
Carleton (15-5) will try to recapture its 2010 when the Knights
became the only team other than Gustavus to claim the conference's
Playoff crown.
No. 1 Gustavus 5, No. 5 Saint John's 0
| Box
Score |
The Gusties improved to 10-0 against MIAC competition this season
after completing a perfect 9-0 run to the regular season title
behind a perfect 5-0 sweep over the Johnnies, which upset No. 4 St.
Olaf Friday to earn a spot in the semifinals. Gustavus was
impressive in a sweep of the three doubles matches, then won a pair
of singles matches in straight sets to reach the five points needed
to secure the victory.
Amrik Donkena and Mya Smith-Dennis scored an 8-2 win at No. 1
doubles, Grant Leisner and Tyler Johnson teamed up for an 8-2
victory at No. 2 doubles as well, and Motasem Al-Houni and Brand
Entwistle made it a Gustie sweep with an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles.
Smith-Dennis got Gustavus its fourth point with a 6-1, 6-0, win
over SJU's Joe Laue at No. 2 singles, and Leisner locked up the
victory with a 6-2, 6-1, win at No. 3 singles. When the match
ended, Donkena had won the first No. 1 singles set 6-3 and was tied
2-2 in the second with SJU star Fabricio Moncada.
No. 2 Carleton 5, No. 3 St. Thomas 4
| Box
Score |
The No. 2 vs. No. 3 semifinal was a back-and-forth thriller that
came down to a tiebreaker in the final match. With the match score
tied 4-4, Carleton's McCoy Becker battled back to win a 7-5,
second-set tiebreaker to complete a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) win over UST's
(11-6) Allen-Michael Muench to give the Knights a narrow 5-4 win,
and a trip to the title match. The Tommies took an early 3-0 lead
by sweeping the doubles, and made it 4-1 after the first two
singles decisions, but Carleton won all the remaining singles
matches - punctuated by Becker's big win - to complete the Carleton
comeback.
Brian McCarthy and Mitchell Blackey teamed up to give UST an 8-4
win at No. 1 doubles, Brendan O'Connell and Brady Radermacher also
earned an 8-4 victory at No. 2 doubles and Muench paired with
Steven Skanse for a thrilling 9-7 win at No. 3 doubles over the
Knights' Erik Johnson and Christian Nagy. Johnson then got Carleton
on the board with a 6-0, 6-0, victory at No. 6 singles, but Brendan
O'Connell got a 6-3, 6-4, No. 2 singles win for UST to put the
Tommies one point from victory.
However, that's when Carleton came charging back. Alexander Chin
scored a 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, win for the Knights at No. 2 singles, and
Paul Cooper completed a 6-3, 7-5, victory at No. 3. Andrew Hwang
tied the match at 4-4 when he earned a 6-1, 6-2, win at No. 4
singles, which set the stage for the dramatic conclusions and
Becker's match-winning victory.
Top two seeds meet for title
Gustavus and Carleton have been the class of the conference - this
season and beyond - so it's only fitting the two will meet again
for the MIAC Playoff title. In the seven years of the event,
Gustavus has reached the championship match all seven times, and
this will be the sixth time the Gusties will battle the Knights for
the postseason title. Gustavus won the first three Playoff titles
from 2007-09, Carleton interrupted with the 2010 title, and the
Gusties won each of the last two. During the regular season,
Gustavus swept the Knights 9-0 on April 20 in Lakeville, Minn.
Saturday's championship match is slated to start at 2:30 p.m. in
St. Peter. All MIAC Playoff matches have been played inside the
Swanson Tennis Center thus far, but improving weather conditions
could move the match outdoors to the Brown Tennis Courts. The
championship winner will received the MIAC Men's Tennis Playoff
championship plaque and an automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Division
III Men's Tennis Tournament.
The host school, Gustavus, will offer live results
for Saturday's championship match. Links to live scores, as well as
complete schedules, results, stats, recaps, photos, team
information and more can be found on the 2013
MIAC Men's Tennis Playoffs web site. Fans can also connect and
interact during the tournament on the MIAC's Facebook page, and on
Twitter (@MIAConline)
using the hashtags #MIACtennis and #MIACPlayoffs.
2013 MIAC Men's Tennis Playoffs
Quarterfinals: Friday, May 3, 2013
No. 3 St. Thomas 5, No. 6 Saint Mary's 0 | Box
Score | Photos: UST
- SMU
| Recap
|
No. 5 Saint John's 5, No. 4 St. Olaf 2 | Box
Score | Photos: SJU
- STO
| Recap
|
Semifinals: Saturday, May 4, 2013
No. 1 Gustavus 5, No. 5 Saint John's 0 | Box
Score | Photos: GAC
- SJU
|
No. 2 Carleton 5, No. 3 St. Thomas 4 | Box
Score | Photos: CAR
- UST
|
Championship: Saturday, May 4, 2013
No. 1 Gustavus vs. No. 2 Carleton | 2:30 p.m. | Live Results
|
*Playoff Champion earns the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA
Tournament
**All matches will be hosted outdoors on the Brown courts if
weather permits. Should inclement weather occur, matches will be
moved indoors to the Swanson courts.