The Gustavus Men’s Tennis team was unstoppable last weekend, capturing both singles and doubles titles while hosting the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional. Junior Amrik Donkena won both the singles draw and also took the doubles crown with partner Mya Smith-Dennis.
In the single’s finals, Donkena took the first set 7-5 against his opponent Fabricio Moncada of Saint John’s, but lost the second set 6-3.
“Amrik had been in a challenging situation in the quarters and the semifinals,” Men’s Head Coach Tommy Valentini said. “He was close to being down in those rounds, and he was able to compete and stay positive and stick to the game plan.”
“The biggest thing I was thinking about was that Fabricio [Moncada] wasn’t showing me any negative emotion, but when I got down on myself, he’d be celebrating every point,” Donkena said.
Donkena was able to regain his composure and limit his unforced errors on his way to winning the decisive third set 6-4.
After that match, Donkena had only 45 minutes of rest before he had to join up with Mya Smith-Dennis in the finals of the doubles draw.
“I didn’t necessarily celebrate after the singles championship, because I still had the doubles championship to go, so any celebrating would have to wait,” Donkena said.
Smith-Dennis and Donkena dropped the first set 6-3, but battled back to take the next two sets 6-1 and 10-2 to clinch the championship.
“The score in the final wasn’t nearly as close as it seemed. Even going up five games in the third set, there was no real relief until it was over,” Valentini said of the doubles championship. “We stayed positive and stayed aggressive, making some very strategic adjustments in the return game.”
“In both wins, you can’t underestimate the role of our entire team and the students of Gustavus,” Valentini said. “Having them there was key.”
The Women’s Tennis team, which also hosted the ITA Midwest regional on the weekend of Sept. 23, 2011 wasn’t without its share of success as Seniors Alex Erickson and Megan Gaard took second place in the doubles draw of the tournament.
After advancing to the finals with tight 8-6 win over Hollis McPeek and Kristina Naidicz of Carthage in the semifinals, Erickson and Gaard fell to Kalla Schaefer and Alexandra Bayliss of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 6-3, 6-3 in the championship match.
“I was a little disappointed at first that I didn’t make it farther in singles and that Megan and I lost in the doubles final,” Erickson said of the tournament. “Looking back on it now, though, I realize what an accomplishment it was for all of us to do as well as we did.”
“In a year when we will be relying on our freshmen to help us achieve great things in the spring, I felt our seniors really stepped up and showed the freshmen how to play championship tennis,” Women’s Head Coach Jon Carlson said. “On our team, the motto is ‘Everyone improves, and everyone plays a role in everyone’s improvement’.”
The fall season is essentially a warm-up to the spring season. There isn’t any inter-conference play, but there are still tournaments that feature opponents the team will likely see again.
“The focus of the fall season for the women’s team is to get the players back into the habit of match play, start developing bonds between teammates, and introduce the freshmen to how we practice,” Carlson said.
Carlson’s young team will have to rely heavily on each other for support both on and off the court, and Carlson is sure to stress the team aspect in the highly individual sport of tennis.
“While tennis is essentially an individual sport, it is not a sport that you can practice on your own,” Carlson said. “In order to improve and to get the most out of practice, your hitting partner needs to have the same energy and effort to get the most out of practice.”
The singles and doubles champions from both the Men and Women’s tournaments will advance to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Small College Championships, which will take place in Mobile, Ala. on October 13-16.