(Photos courtesy of Gustavus Adolphus)
(Portions of this story courtesy of Trinity
University)
ST. PETER, Minn. - The eighth-ranked
Trinity men’s tennis team advanced to the NCAA Division III
Quarterfinals with a 5-3 third-round victory over 21st-ranked
Gustavus Adolphus College on Sunday afternoon.
Fifth-year Head Coach Russell McMindes’ Tigers (24-6) will
meet second-ranked Washington University-St. Louis in the
quarterfinals on May 19 at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center at
Claremont, California. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College will host the
team finals through May 21.
After Trinity jumped out to a 4-1 lead, Sunday’s Regional final turned into quite a battle. The Tigers opened with two doubles wins, as Charlie Curtis and Clayton Niess won No. 3 doubles, and Jordan Mayer and Greg Haugen rallied to take line two 9-8 (7-0).
Aaron Skinner (No. 4) and Mayer (No. 5) scored singles wins, and Trinity widened the gap to 4-1. Gustavus then started its comeback, winning No. 3 and No. 6 singles to make it 4-3. Moreno lost in three sets at line three, while Curtis fell in straight sets.
Deuel then stopped the rally with his hard-fought 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-0) victory at the top line of singles. The Tigers were trailing in the third set of the final singles match, making Deuel's win even more important to the overall team finish.
The Tigers had a first-round bye, then shut out Grinnell College 5-0 in the second round on Saturday. The Tigers will take on second-ranked Washington - St. Louis on May 19th.
Trinity has advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the second straight time, and fourth in the past five years under the leadership of Coach McMindes. Overall, the Tigers will compete in their 17th quarterfinal round, dating back to 1993. It also marks Trinity’s 21st foray into the NCAA Playoffs, highlighted by a national title in 2000.
