Gustavus Adolphus College
Location: Saint Peter, MN
Coach: Tommy Valentini
Preseason Ranking: 15
Overview: I will be the first to admit that Gustavus is probably the hardest team for me to cover. In my long tenure of being associated with D3 tennis, I have never seen them play once. I travel to many matches and tournaments, but St. Peter, MN is a bit out of my reachable places so I really can only go off of what I hear from sources, the stats from their matches, and recruiting classes they have coming in. That being said, I usually can get a good idea of how good these guys are. Last season this team surprised me a bit with how they played all the top teams really tough. Early in the year they took Wash U to the brink before losing 6-3. They took out Chicago and Whitewater pretty easily and out in California lost to Emory and Carnegie 6-3 as well. They took a trip out east and gave Middlebury all they could ever want in a 5-4 battle and fell to Trinity TX at nationals 5-3. While those are losses, they are against the cream of the crop and goes to show that Gustavus can never be forgotten. This season is going to be a very difficult one for Gustavus to have similar results. This team was absolutely destroyed by graduation losing their top 4 guys in Luis Chu, Smith-Dennis, Leisner, and MacGibbon. They brought in a couple of young guys to replace them, but the experience and talent at the top will be missed greatly. I expect this Gustavus team to do well because they always find a way, but staying in the top 15 will be difficult. A top 20 ranking would be a great goal for this inexperienced squad.
Key Losses: Juan Luis Chu (1 singles), Mya Smith-Dennis (2 singles), Grant Leisner (3/4 singles), Joey MacGibbon (3/4 singles)
Key Additions: Mohanad Al-Houni and Tommy Entwistle
Lineup Analysis:
#1 Singles: Motasem Al-Houni: I was always high on the eldest Al-Houni brother last season as he was a virtual lock at the bottom of the lineup for the Gusties. Playing #1 is a whole new ball game, but winning the ITA tourney is a step in the right direction for Mota coming into the spring. Yes we all know it is a weak ITA, but he outlasted some good competition in doing so. At nationals, he lost all three of his matches rather easily which was expected. I don’t think Mota is a national caliber top player, but he should battle well against the regional opponents to hopefully earn a top 8 spot to get a bid to individual nationals. He will have some must win matches on the schedule for him to do so.
#2 Singles: Brad Entwistle: Similarly to Mota, the eldest Entwistle was a great number 6 for Gustavus last season. He also had a good ITA tournament beating top seed and All-American Humphreys from Whitewater as well as Coe’s big freshman Anderson only to fall to Mota in the semi finals. I am not sure if Brad will be slotted this high over the younger Al-Houni, but coach Valentini typically plays his freshmen lower in the lineup until they get some experience under them. This will be another spot that the Gusties may struggle with against the national caliber teams, but regionally they should still fair well.
#3 Singles: Mohanad Al-Houni: Al-Houni #2 is the younger Mohanad. I was confident that he would come in right away and make an impact and he did just that. He beat a very solid opponent in Jack Michael from Carroll in the semis only to fall to his brother in the ITA final. Can you imagine having to watch that as a parent or coach? It couldn’t have been easy! Like I just mentioned, Mohanad may end up at 2 singles by year end, but I would expect him to start at #3. This is where Gustavus will start to compete better against the top tier teams. They have always been a great team with a ton of depth.
#4 Singles: Andres Saenz: 4-6 singles could be a mix of the next three players as I don’t think there is much difference between the three in terms of talent, but Saenz probably gets the edge based off match experience. I expect him to be fairly successful at this spot and think 5 and 6 singles will be even more successful whomever ends up there. Saenz beat Shklyar from Whitewater who continues to fall in terms of production and lost to Michael in the quarters. Saenz is a great doubles player and will be relied on heavily there as well.
#5 Singles: Mitch Elofson: Both Elofson and the younger Entwistle don’t have much match experience so it is hard to tell how successful they will be, but the depth and work ethic of Gustavus should prove itself at these two spots. Elofson reached the round of 16 losing to Coe freshman Anderson, but had a solid tournament that should give him a spot in the lineup.
#6 Singles: Tommy Entwistle: The second Entwistle was probably disappointed in his ITA, but he is a 3 star recruit that should have an impact on this team. I have him at 6 only because he is a freshman and could see him potentially going as high as #4. I want to take this time to mention how cool it is that Gustavus has two pairs of brothers not only on the team, but playing such a vital role in the success for the year. I can’t imagine this happens often and I am sure I will mix up the names multiple times throughout the year, but either way I think this is a cool story.
Doubles: Speaking of the brother combinations, I think it would be awesome if they both played together in doubles, but unfortunately it looks doubtful. Maybe when they play some lower team they can do it. At the top spot will be Mota Al-Houni and Saenz as they won the fall ITA and did well down at nationals with a win over Buxbaum and Walsh from Hopkins and a super breaker loss to the top tandem from Emory to place 6th. This team should compete all season and is a potential national qualifier as well. At the second spot, I would expect Elofson and Mohanad to feature with a combination of either Entwistle, Collin Rieke, or anyone else on the roster rounding out third doubles. Gustavus always has a disciplined doubles squad and this year should be no different. Doubles will be very important to their success this year as they don’t have the same firepower in singles as they did previously.
Schedule
Unfortunately I don’t have a link to their schedule as it is not on their website yet, but thanks to the dedicated reader for sending it to me. We always appreciate the help! One look at the Gustavus schedule and I realize the changing landscape of Division 3 tennis. With the dwindling number of Pool C bids (not that it matters for Gustavus) and the expansion of top tier teams, having a national caliber schedule means lots of travel all over the country. Gustavus is fortunate enough to host Indoors this year so that will at least be home, but big trips to Florida and California also highlight their season.
The Gusties start the season down in Florida against non D3 competition which I think will be good as it will pit them against some great teams with not much on the line in terms of a ranking. Now I do question taking a trip to somewhere warm and playing outdoors only to turn around and play at National Indoors in the following weeks, but tennis is tennis so hopefully the weather allows them to train.
At indoors, Gustavus is the 8 seed and because they are hosting, they got the bid over Whitman who probably would have accepted if they got the invite. I like it being back at the Gustavus bubble because that is the way it should be and has been for many years. I do feel bad for Whitman missing out. As the 8 seed, they drew top seeded Trinity TX which will be a difficult match because their doubles will be equally as tough. Case or Hopkins would follow and I don’t see them winning that match either so Gustavus should be happy if they are able to eek out a 7th place finish which would probably mean a win over Kenyon in the last round. I don’t think they will, but they have a shot at it.
Gustavus has a couple of important regional match-ups sandwiched in between Indoors and California that will be important. They will take on both Whitewater and Coe at home which will help and I think the Gusties are just to strong for both teams. The main significance of these matches will be 1 singles and 1 doubles as they will have national qualifying implications. Mota will have to take down one, if not both of Humphreys (Whitewater) and Sprinkel (Coe).
California is a gauntlet of teams starting with Williams, followed by Pomona, and finishing off with CMS. Good luck making it out of there with a win. The hope is they can compete like they did last season and keep these matches close. Depauw and Chicago will be awaiting them upon their return and the Depauw match specifically is very important. Both teams lost a lot to graduation and both teams rely on doubles and depth to beat others. I am going to give the slight edge to Gustavus for now and this win should keep them in the top 20 as long as they don’t slip up anywhere else in the season.
The good news for Gustavus is they will easily win their conference and go on to the national tournament. No worrying about the Pool C reduction for this them. Obviously it is next to impossible to determine where they will end up, but they like to host which is a big advantage for them. If they do, I could see them as a 3 seed or even get a 2 seed as they were last season. I don’t think this year’s team has as big of an upset potential as last year, but Gustavus will always be a difficult opponent for anyone.