The No. 12 Gustavus men’s tennis team had a pair of shutouts this past weekend, blanking conference opponents St. Olaf and Hamline. With the wins, the Gusties move to 8-2 on the season and 4-0 in the MIAC.

The Gusties started the morning with a 9-0 win over St. Olaf College.

During the singles matches, the men won every game without dropping a single set.

The Gusties were led by Junior Yassine Derbani, who took the victory on the top court in two consecutive sets (6-1, 6-2).

The doubles matches were relatively similar, and the Gusties won all three matches.

First-year Nick Aney and Derbani took charge of the top court in doubles, decisively winning their match 8-2.

Following a dominant performance in the morning, the men’s team maintained their momentum to secure a 9-0 win over Hamline University.

Similarly to the morning, the Gusties progressed through singles play without dropping a single set. Senior Patrick Whaling led the black and gold on court one, defeating his opponent in two sets (6-3, 6-2).

Head Coach Tommy Valentini was happy with the singles performances on the day, which displayed the depth the team possesses.

“Our depth was key today in singles,” Valentini said. “We had 12 different guys score wins in singles, and everyone competed very well and played an important role.”

Valentini didn’t fail to recognize the contribution of Whaling throughout the day, a key leader for the Gusties.

“Patrick Whaling set a great tone for us in singles tonight. He played a poised and tactically sound match, and handled the big moments beautifully and with a lot of trust to defeat an outstanding opponent with a big game in Trondson,” Valentini said. “The guys fed off his performance tonight and everyone supported each other beautifully.”

The Gusties continued to show their dominance throughout the doubles matches as well, sweeping all three matches. Senior Chase Johnson and Whaling took charge of the top court, defeating their opponents 8-4.

“The guys played two solid matches today,” Valentini said. We’re thankful for the results today, but more so with how the team competed overall.”

Along with a wide-array of standout performances from the men’s team, one individual performed well enough to earn MIAC Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week honors. Whaling, was honored following his performance in the matchup against Hamline.

In a matchup between two top-25 ranked singles players in Division III, No. 23 Whaling defeated No. 11 Jake Trondson, who was the 2018 Fall ITA regional champion. Whaling defeated Trondson in straight sets (6-3, 6-2).

When asked about what he thought of the match, Whaling was pleased with his performance against Trondson.

“It was a great opportunity to play Jake again, he is a highly nationally ranked player, and he beat me in the fall season. I was very happy I got the result I wanted this time around,” Whaling said. “You definitely learn a lot more from your losses in this sport, I feel like I am a totally different player than when I played him in the fall”

In doubles, Whaling and Johnson also defeated Trondson and his partner 8-4. It was for these outstanding performances that Whaling was named MIAC Tennis Athlete of the Week.

Whaling didn’t fail to recognize the contributions of his teammates over the weekend as well.

“I was very grateful to win athlete of the week, the support of our team by the Gustavus community is amazing and very appreciated,” Whaling said.

The men leave Thursday for a tournament in Claremont, CA where they will play multiple matches. On Friday the men will play Sewanee College as well as participate in the second round of the Stag-Hen invitational, which includes multiple teams from across the country.

The Gusties will conclude play on Saturday, Mar 16, in the Final Round of the Stag-Hen invitational.