NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Fresh off its first playoff win since 2014, the fourth-seeded St. Olaf College men's tennis team will face top-seeded and No. 31-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College in the semifinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Men's Tennis Playoffs on Thursday.
St. Olaf (7-7) advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2015 with a 4-2 win over fifth-seeded Concordia-Moorhead on Tuesday to earn a date with nationally-ranked Gustavus (17-11). The Oles and Gusties will meet at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 1 at the Wilkinson Tennis Complex.
Per MIAC policy, no admission will be charged for postseason tennis matches. Gustavus will live stream the match on
YouTube if it gets moved indoors due to weather.
The winner of Thursday's semifinal will advance to the championship match on Saturday, May 3 against either third-seeded Bethel University or second-seeded Carleton College, who will match up at 4 p.m. on Thursday in the other semifinal in Northfield.
After falling behind 1-0 in doubles, St. Olaf won four of the five singles matches that finished, including a pair of three-set victories for the final two points, to
top Concordia on Tuesday in its first home playoff match under the current format implemented in 2007. With the match tied at 2-2, first year
Lou Smith and sophomore
Ryan Birnesser recovered from dropping their second sets to pull out three-set wins to get the Oles to the four points needed to advance.
The win was the first for St. Olaf in the MIAC Playoffs since a semifinal victory over Carleton in 2014 and improved the Oles' record to 7-9 all-time in the tournament. St. Olaf qualified for the MIAC Playoffs for the second season in a row and the 10th time overall.
Gustavus recorded its 39th consecutive undefeated MIAC season, won its 55th regular-season title, and ran its conference winning streak to 365 matches going back to 1985. The Gusties have qualified for the MIAC Playoffs in each season since 2007, have won 16 of the 17 MIAC Playoff titles (Carleton in 2010), and are 33-1 all-time in the tournament.
The Oles and Gusties will meet for the fourth time in the MIAC Playoffs, with Gustavus having won each of the previous three, including 8-1 victories in the championship matches in 2009 and 2014. Gustavus has won the last 44 head-to-head matchups with St. Olaf since a 5-4 victory by the Oles on April 19, 1984.
