After a successful weekend at home in the Regionals, the Gusties head to Maine for Nationals
Last weekend in the MIAC Playoffs, the Gustavus Men’s Tennis team continued to run over teams like they’ve done all season long. The team beat St. Thomas in the opening round of the MIAC tournament before defeating Carleton in the MIAC Championship on Saturday, April 26 at the Swanson Tennis Courts. This MIAC playoff tournament was only the second post-season tournament to have six MIAC teams compete. Prior to last year, all MIAC teams were eligible to compete in the playoffs.
Number one seed Gustavus started in dominant fashion as all three doubles teams got wins. The doubles team consisting of Andy Bryan and Charlie Paukert won its #1 match 8-2. Mike Burdkin and John Kauss won their #2 match 8-1 while Nick Hansen and Kevin Stickney earned a victory at #3 with an 8-4 decision. John Kauss at #2 and Aaron Zenner at #5 both went on to win their singles matches, giving Gustavus the 5-0 win over St. Thomas.
Later that evening, the Gusties had another big task ahead of them as they were matched up against Carleton in the Championship. This match seemed oddly familiar to the St. Thomas match. Once again, all three doubles teams started the match with wins 8-2, 8-2 and 8-4, respectively. This time it was John Kauss and Kevin Stickney that came through in their singles matches to get the necessary two points for the victory. The Gusties clinched an NCAA Tournament appearance with the win over Carleton, giving the team its twenty-fifth appearance overall and its fifteenth straight.
Both the Men’s and Women’s regional playoffs for the NCAA Tournament were hosted at the Brown Tennis Complex at Gustavus on May 1-4. The Gustavus men’s team opened its play on day three of the tournament against Luther College. Luther had advanced the day prior by defeating Carthage. Bryan, Kauss and Paukert won three straight in singles matches to clinch the match at 5-1 for their team, advancing them to the third round.
In the third round, Gustavus squared off against the University of Texas at Tyler. The Gusties’ doubles teams were once again able to pace the team with all three points in their matches. Bryan and Paukert ended up 8-3 at #1, Kauss and Burdakin 9-7 at #2 and Tomasek and Hansen 8-5 at #3. Both Kauss and Stickney were able to follow up the strong doubles performances with wins in each of their singles matches. Kauss finished 6-0, 6-3 at the #2 position and Stickney recorded the final point 6-3, 6-2 at the #6 position to close the match.
“We’re confident. We’re going up against the teams viewed by many as the best in the country. The guys are determined and focused…and anxious to have the matter settled.” said Head Coach Steve Wilkinson. “We’ve been the top team in the Central regin since 2000. This works out for us because we can settle things on the court rather than leave things up to someone sermizing.”
The win over the University of Texas at Tyler secured a spot in the NCAA Quarterfinals for the Gusties. This is the ninth straight year that Gustavus has made it this deep into the tournament, and has hopes to bring another national title back to St. Peter. The last national title that the men’s Tennis team won was back in 1982. The NCAA Quarterfinals begin Tuesday, May 13 at Bates College in Lewiston,
Maine. The Gusties will face an opponent that is yet to be determined.
“As a team, I have seen [the] morale continue to grow in the past two weeks. Last week when we played UT-Tyler the team seemed to play and feel like it did right after the win at National Indoors,” said Tomasek. “Everyone was focused with high energy and positive attitudes believing we were the best team in the nation… Everyone knows that at every spot in the line up that person will give it their all and never stop fighting.”
Photo by: Sarah Cartwright