The Gustavus women are back from their excursion to Mobile, Ala. for the ITA National Small College Championships.

Senior Sam Frank competed in the singles tournament while Junior Megan Gaard and Senior Marianne Barau competed in the doubles portion. The players earned spots in the National Tournament after winning the singles and doubles finals at the ITA Regional Competition, which was hosted by Gustavus Sept. 24-26, 2010.

National representation wasn’t entirely unexpected, but the Gustie women exceeded expectations with notable finishes at this year’s national competition.

Seventh-seeded Sam Frank climbed to the championship match on Saturday, Oct. 16 and finished the tournament as the second best Division III women’s singles player in the nation. Frank dominated the number two seed Zahra Dawson of Emory University (Ga.) in the opening round in straight sets, winning 6-3, 6-3 on Oct. 14. “This proved to me that I can play with the top people in the nation,” Frank said.

Frank was spurred by her early success and pushed herself to victory in a close match against Karisse Bendijo of New Jersey College the following day. “You don’t want to step on the court [and say] ‘win or lose, I already made it here,’” Frank said. “If I think I can win, I give myself a better chance.”

A win in the semifinals launched Frank into the championship match on Oct. 16 against Kristin Lim of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.), a test of her will, which ultimately proved insurmountable. Frank lost in the finals, but she earned national recognition for herself and Gustavus with a second place finish.

The doubles tandem of Gaard and Barau started slowly but finished in winning fashion, securing seventh place with a victory over Whitman College (Wash.) in straight sets on the final day of competition. “[Gaard and Barau] had a tough match the first round and lost,” Frank said. “Then, [they] lost in a tie-breaker in their second match. But to be seventh in the nation is pretty good.”

The Gustie women had a strong contingent to support performance, including the expertise of Assistant Coach Heidi Carlson. The women were able to watch each other play as the singles and doubles matches were scheduled to avoid conflict. “To have teammates there cheering made it a lot easier,” Frank said.

“Going into the tournament, I don’t think anybody expected us to do well,” Frank said. “A lot of people were just like ‘who are these people from St. Peter?’”
Finishing in the national rankings provided a statement that has catapulted Gustavus on the national scene. The women will use this success as fuel for the upcoming spring season.

For now, they will have to wait until February to enter competition, but several months of rest will be welcome. The women will begin the team season in February with a trip to Puerto Rico to train and prepare for the upcoming season.