ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team kicked off play in the Gustavus Midwest Open in winning fashion Friday afternoon, as five of the seven Cardinals competing came away with opening-round victories.
Brenden Amiotte (Rapid City, S.D.),
Brett Giesen (Cato, Wis.),
Alex Holm (Red Wing, Minn.), and
Warren Lawrenz (Rochester, Minn.) all recorded straight-set wins—Amiotte 6-1, 6-0 over Macalester's Clay Crager, Giesen 6-1, 6-0 against Edgewood's Matt Hruska, Holm 6-4, 6-0 against Saint John's Michael Thompson, and Lawrenz 6-1, 6-4 vs. Bethel's Peter Lindberg—while
Alex Zuzek (Hastings, Minn.) rallied from a set down to beat Bethany Lutheran's Dexter Jackson, 4-6, 6-0, 10-6.
And it was more of the same in the second round, as Amiotte and Holm each collected their second consecutive straight-set win, while Giesen and Lawrenz each rallied from a set down to post three-set victories. Giesen dug himself out of a 4-6, 1-4 hole to beat Luther's Jerad Barnes 4-6, 6-4, 13-11, with Lawrenz falling 3-6 in the opening set, only to come back with 6-4 and 11-9 wins to seal a spot in the third round.
Zuzek dropped a marathon, 5-7, 6-2, 11-9 decision in his second-round match, while Lawrenz and Amiotte came out on the short end of three-set third-round outcomes. Holm, Giesen, and Amiotte also had their singles runs come to a screeching halt in the third round, as all three fell in straight sets.
Giesen and Zuzek teamed for an 8-4 win in the opening match in the Gustavus Midwest Open doubles competition, while Lawrenz-Holm and Amiotte-Merritt also collected first round wins, 8-2 and 8-4, respectively.
Blake Olmscheid (Farmington, Minn.) and
Garen Merritt (Sioux City, Iowa) did not fare as well in their first matches of the day. Olmscheid dropped a 6-3, 2-6, ,12-10 decision to St. Norbert's Alex Vandenberg, while Merritt fell to Steven Lee of UW-La Crosse, 6-3, 6-0.
While his teammates were busy taking part in the Gustavus Midwest Open,
Collin Kaczorowski (Suamico, Wis.) took part in the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Championships, also hosted by Gustavus. The senior came up short in his opening-round singles match, falling to UW-Whitewater's Garrett Thompson, 6-2, 6-0.
Kaczorowski also teamed with Olmscheid in the doubles portion of the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Championships, collecting an 8-6 win in their opening match.
The tournament continues on Saturday, with consolation and winner's bracket matches beginning at 9 a.m.
