The Gustavus Women’s tennis team finished their regular season on Saturday, Apr. 26 with a 5-4 win over the University of St. Thomas. The team ended the regular season with an 8-2 record in the MIAC and a 15-5 record overall.
St. Thomas gained an early lead winning two of three doubles matches. First-Years Michaela Schulz and Lizzy Stanczyk won the only doubles match for Gustavus. Although Schulz won her singles match, the Tommies won the first two singles matches, giving them the 4-2 lead before the Gusties made a comeback with wins from Sophomore Sidney Dirks and Stanczyk. Tied 4-4 going into the final match, the final score depended on Junior Laurel Krebsbach. Krebsbach lost the first set 6-4, and came back 6-3 before winning the super breaker 14-12.
Although the team failed to win the regular season Conference title, the Gusties hope to win the MIAC playoffs title this week.
“Our goal was to win conference and win the MIAC playoffs. We unfortunately didn’t win the Conference, we lost two matches to St. Kate’s and Carleton, but we’ve switched some things up in the lineup,” Krebsbach said.
The Gusties have used their young talent to drive their success, only suffering two MIAC losses to St. Catherine University and Carleton College.
“A major strength is that we have a lot of young talent. We have a lot of really good freshmen along with some experienced returners,” Krebsbach said.
According to the players, another positive force is the team’s emphasis on supporting each other on the court and remaining a solid unit. The team ensures support by committing to cheering for each other during each match.
“We’re all driven towards the same goal, and we’re very good at working together and figuring things out,” Schulz said.
Junior Annie Mahoney agrees that the team bond is a key to their success.
“Even if you’re not playing, you still have to come if you’re not in the top six. You pick a court and really invest yourself in that match. Even at practice, if you’re not playing you’re watching other people play. So I think it’s a good kind of circuit we have going where everyone is involved,” Mahoney said.
The MIAC playoffs began with the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Apr. 29, but because the Gusties were the number two seed, they received a bye in the quarterfinal round. This article went to press before Thursday’s matches were played. The Gusties hosted the University of St. Thomas on Thursday for the semi-final round. The Tommies were the third seed in the MIAC tennis playoff bracket. The St. Thomas tennis team defeated Saint Ben’s tennis team in the quarterfinals on Tuesday 5-0 to advance to the semifinals.
The winner of Thursday’s semifinal round will advance to the MIAC Playoff Championship, which will be played on Saturday, May 3. If the Gusties win Thursday’s match they will face the winner of the quarterfinal contest between number-one seed Carleton and number-four seed St. Catherine. If the Gusties play Carleton, the match will be at Carleton, but if the Gusties play St. Catherine, the Gusties will host the match.