http://miac-online.org/news/2013/5/4/MTEN_0504132152.aspx
ST. PETER, Minn. -- Home-court proved to be an advantage again
for the Gustavus Adolphus College men's tennis team, as the Gusties
continued their season-long dominance in the Minnesota
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) by winning the 2013 MIAC
Men's Tennis Playoffs. This is Gustavus' third conference
postseason title in a row, and sixth crown in the tournament's
seven-year history.
Gustavus claimed the title with an 8-1 championship-match victory
over second-seeded Carleton. The Knights finished second in the
regular season - also only losing to the Gusties - and were the
only team other than Gustavus to win a MIAC Playoff title under the
tournament's current format, but Head Coach Tommy Valentini's club
was too tough this time around, sweeping the doubles and winning
five of six singles matches en route to the title.
The best doubles match of the day was at No. 1, where the Gustavus
tandem of Amrik Donkena and Mya Smith-Dennis defeated Carleton's
Paul Cooper and Andrew Hwang by a narrow 8-6 margin. The Gusties
also got an 8-3 win from Tyler Johnson and Grant Liesner at No. 2
doubles and the third doubles team of Motasem Al-Houni and Brad
Entwistle got Gustavus an 8-2 win at No. 3 doubles.
Juan Luis Chu earned the Gusties' first singles point at No. 4,
with a 6-3, 6-2, victory, and Gustavus locked up the title with a
6-3, 6-2, victory at No. 2 singles by Smith-Dennis. Donkena added a
6-3, 6-0, win at No. 1 singles and Joey MacGibbon added another
Gustavus victory at No. 5 singles by the scores 6-4, 6-1. Brad
Entwistle delivered Gustavus' most exciting singles win, a 6-1, 6-7
(4-7), 10-5, thriller at No. 6. Carleton's lone singles point came
courtesy of Cooper, who scored a 6-4, 4-6, 10-3, win at No. 3
singles.
With the win, Gustavus improved to 24-9 in 2013, and completed a
perfect 11-0 total record against conference opponents. Carleton
fell to 15-6 overall, and was a combined 9-2 against MIAC teams,
with its only two losses coming to the Gusties. Gustavus is ranked
No. 18 in the nation and No. 4 in the region, and the Knights carry
the region's No. 10 ranking.
In addition to the MIAC's postseason championship plaque, Gustavus
received the MIAC's automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Division III
Men's Tennis Tournament. The NCAA will host a live
selection show online to announce the tournament selections and
brackets Monday at 6 p.m. central time. Individual selections will
be announced online via a press release on NCAA.com
Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Gustavus served as the host school for the 2013 MIAC Tennis
Playoffs. 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 re-live the
tournament's highlights 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
| Recap
|
No. 2 Carleton 5, No. 3 St. Thomas 4 | Box
Score | Photos: CAR
- UST
| Recap
|
Championship: Saturday, May 4, 2013
No. 1 Gustavus* 8, No. 2 Carleton 1 | Box
Score |
*Gustavus earns the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA
Tournament
2013
MIAC Men's Tennis Playoffs Home Page