Teddy Kaste-

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) recently released its rankings for Division 3. The Men’s tennis team was represented a staggering 18 times in these rankings, which is the most by any men’s team in any division – D1, D2, or D3.

The rankings are both for singles tennis, (1v1) and doubles tennis (2v2). The women received one national ranking honor for the duo of Sophomores Molly Austin and Allison Szalay. They were ranked 15th nationally and 5th regionally.

The men were represented in both the singles and the doubles national rankings, with seven rankings total. The singles rankings representation for the Gusties was as follows: #15 Sophomore Gage Gohl, #29 Junior Marco Siviero, #30 Junior Rafael de Camargo Costa, #43 Senior Jack Bergmeyer, and #47 Senior Caleb Fridinger. In terms of doubles teams, the two that are nationally ranked are #4 Siviero and Junior Josh Christensen, and #7 Gohl and Sophomore Tyler Haddorff.

“It’s an honor to be ranked number four for doubles in the nation and it shows the amount of work Marco and I have put into our doubles game since last year, but although it is nice to be ranked high our top priority is to win a national championship as a team and that is what our focus will be moving forward,” Christensen, one-half of the #4 ranked doubles duo, commented.

The other half of the duo, Siviero, also weighed in, “I mean of course it is nice to be ranked higher and it makes me feel proud to be recognized for the effort I and the whole team put in, but I personally do not give that much attention to those rankings. The ultimate goal is to be the best team we can and perform well during the Spring.” Although the ranking is a great honor, the duo seems to have their sights set on even higher goals.

The success of Gustavus’ tennis program is no accident. Gustavus consistently has one of the strongest tennis programs in the nation and is hot off winning the Midwest region of the NCAA tournament last year. Gustavus’ tennis program travels all across the country to play their matches because that’s the only way for them to find competition. Last year, the men’s tennis team touched down in Florida, Georgia, and California in pursuit of tennis excellence.

The last time the Gustavus Men’s lost a match to another MIAC team, Ronald Regan had just started his second term in office and the Soviet Union was still a country. The year was 1985, and that is how far back you have to find a Gustavus loss in the MIAC. In all the MIAC tennis matches dating back to 1966, Gustavus’ record is 568-3 with 2 of those 3 losses coming in 1966. The only way to describe how dominant Gustavus’ tennis truly has been is through these mind-boggling statistics.

The men’s tennis team is also the most internationally diverse on campus with 8 of its 18 members being international students from Europe, South America, and Africa. Coach Tommy Valentini scours the globe in search of talent to bring into this Gustavus tennis program, and it has led to success on the court.

Junior tennis player from Harare, Zimbabwe Taona Mhwandagara (Ranked #7 regionally for doubles) said of the program’s diversity, “I strongly believe that our team’s greatest strength lies in its diversity. We’re a team composed of athletes from nearly every continent on the planet. This diverse makeup has compelled us to function as a unified collective, embracing and celebrating our differences.”

Sure, success on the court is important, but to build a solid foundation for a successful program you need more than that. You need a strong team culture, and for Gustavus tennis, their team culture is the engine that propels them forward year in and year out.

Taona went on to say about the tennis teams’ culture, “Coach Thomas Valentini has instilled a belief system that prioritizes not just our representation on the court, but also emphasizes the importance of being respectful competitors. We strive to embody these principles, symbolized by the three crowns we proudly wear on our sleeves each time we step onto the court.”

The members of the Gustavus tennis team are proud to represent the 3 crowns and have their sights set on the ultimate prize, The NCAA Championship. Last year they got close, losing to the eventual champions Case Western in the quarter finals. So this year the team is hungry for more, and they are excited to get back to that NCAA tournament.