ST. PETER, Minn. -- Less than optimal weather forced the Carleton men’s tennis team to travel throughout the southeastern portion of the state of Minnesota during a weekend of action at the Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional. Sophomore Ben Guzick (Rochester, N.Y./The Harley School) advanced to the finals of the singles draw where he lost in three sets to the top seed. In doubles, Guzick and Winston Park (Sr./Encino, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) moved into the quarterfinals before falling to the eventually champions.
Photos from the weekend provided by Michael Kyllo-Kittleson (Gustavus Adolphus)
There were actually two tournaments going on simultaneously, the Midwest Open and the more prestigious ITA Regional, featuring 26 of the top small college tennis programs in the region. Approximately 175 of the top singles and doubles players in the Midwest took part in the two events.
The Knights had three players reach the round of 16 in the singes draw at the ITA Regional, which featured a pool of 126 players. All three Knights advanced past their seed expectations, and it is believed that Guzick is Carleton’s first ITA singles player to reach the semifinals—let alone the championship match—since Jeong-Bae Suh in the late 1990s.
Guzick, the fifth seed, advanced through six rounds to make it to the finals. His weekend included a come-from-behind victory in the semifinals as he knocked off No. 3 Scott Sundstrom of Luther College by scores of 2-6, 7-5, and 6-4. In the finals, Guzick faced Mike Greenberg of Kenyon College, the 2008 NCAA singles champion. Guzick gave the top seed all he could handle but eventually fell in the three sets 5-7, 6-1, and 3-6.
Sophomore Peter Dunn (Winnetka, Ill./North Shore Country Day), was ranked eighth heading into the weekend and won his first four matches before falling in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Greenberg. Dunn actually led the first set, 4-2, before 2008 national champ rallied back to win 6-4, 3-2 when Dunn needed to withdraw due to injury. No. 17 seed Winston Park (Sr./Encino Calif./Harvard-Westlake) played well to advance to the Round of 16 before falling in three sets 7-6, 2-6, and 4-6.
In doubles, the team of Guzick and Park advanced to the quarterfinal round before losing eighth-seeded Sundstrom and Ustab Rijal from Luther, 8-3. The upset of the tournament almost came from the tandem of Jon Aranda (So./Los Angeles Calif./Loyola) and rookie Paul Cooper (Fy./Burr Ridge Ill./Hinsdale Central) who took the top seeds to a tiebreak before eventually losing, 9-7.
In the Midwest Open, Cooper advanced to the singles semifinals before losing in a third set, super tiebreaker to the eventual champion. Carleton rookies Alex Chin (Hingham, Mass.) and Austin Jiang (Green Bay Wis./Bayport) also made it to the semifinals of the doubles draw.
Due to weather conditions, play for the ITA Regional and Midwest Open tournaments occurred in five different locations: St. Peter, Minneapolis, Lakeville, Owatonna, and Mankato.
"The weekend tested not only our understanding of Minnesota geography, but also our stamina and confidence. On all counts we had a glorious adventure. We have set some high standards for the upcoming season," said Head Coach Stephan Zweifel after the team’s impressive performance. No Carleton player was upset by an opponent that was either lower-ranked or did not win the regional title.
Full results can be found at the tournament website. Results are listed below for matches featuring Carleton players.
ITA Singles Draw
First Round
#8 Peter Dunn (Carleton) def. Martin Dluhos (Grinnell) --- 6-2, 6-2
#17 Winston Park (Carleton) def. Nathan Fekete (UW-La Crosse) --- 6-6, 6-1
Greg Janssen (Coe) def. Austin Jiang (Carleton) --- 6-1, 6-1
Danny Glinert (UW-Whitewater) def. Alex Chin (Carleton) --- 4-6, 6-2, 10-8
#5 Ben Guzick (Carleton) def. Ustab Rijal (Luther) --- 6-2, 7-6
Second Round
#8 Peter Dunn (Carleton) def. Mitch Eslick (Wartburg) --- score unavailable
#17 Winston Park (Carleton) def. Curtis Newman (Coe) --- 2-6, 6-2, 10-3
#5 Ben Guzick (Carleton) def. Kirby Johnson (Concordia)--- 6-1, 7-5
Third Round
#8 Peter Dunn (Carleton) def. Chris Kuna (UW-Eau Claire) --- 6-1, 7-5
#17 Winston Park (Carleton) def. Lars Olson (UW-Eau Claire) --- 6-1, 6-3
#5 Ben Guzick (Carleton) def. Nick Piotrowski (UW-La Crosse) --- 6-2, 6-3
Fourth Round
#8 Peter Dunn (Carleton) def. #17 Kelvin Caiati (UW-Whitewater) --- 7-6, 6-4
#9 Nick Garcia (Dubuque) def. #17 Winston Park (Carleton) --- 6-7, 6-2, 6-4
#5 Ben Guzick (Carleton) def. #9 Tyler Johnson (Gustavus) --- 6-0, 6-2
Quarterfinals
#1 Mike Greenberg (Kenyon) def. #8 Peter Dunn (Carleton) --- 6-4, 3-2 (Dunn withdrew due to injury)
#5 Ben Guzick (Carleton) def. #9 Will Vandenberg (Kenyon) --- 6-2, 7-5
Semifinals
#5 Ben Guzick (Carleton) def. #3 Scott Sundstrom (Luther) --- 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
Finals
#1 Mike Greenberg (Kenyon) def. #5 Ben Guzick (Carleton) --- 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
ITA Doubles Draw
First Round
Jon Aranda/Paul Cooper (Carleton) def. Colin Johnson/Daniel Nellis (Grinnell) --- 9-7
#4 Ben Guzick/Winston Park (Carleton) def. Eric Scanlan/Timmy Moller (UW-Whitewater) --- 8-3
Colin Russell/Peter Dunn (Carleton) def. Brian Tresedder/Steve Anschutz (Concordia) --- 8-2
Second Round
Jon Aranda/Paul Cooper (Carleton) def. Kyle Tucker/Scott Stegemann (Coe) --- 8-6
#4 Ben Guzick/Winston Park (Carleton) def. Matt Edin/Kriby Johnson (Concordia) --- 8-6
#9 Joey Van Lieshout/Nick Pirotrowski (UW-La Crosse) def. Colin Russell/Peter Dunn (Carleton) --- 8-3
Third Round
#1 Mike Greenberg/Will Vandenberg (Kenyon) def. Jon Aranda/Paul Cooper (Carleton) --- 9-7
#4 Ben Guzick/Winston Park (Carleton) def. #9 Victor Khristenko/Greg Janssen (Coe) --- 8-3
Quarterfinals
#8 Scott Sundstrom/Ustab Rijal (Luther) def. #4 Ben Guzick/Winston Park (Carleton) --- 8-3
Midwest Open Singles
First Round
Austin Taylor (Carleton) - Bye
Paul Cooper (Carleton) def. Demetrius Johnson (Dubuque) --- 6-2, 7-6
Jon Aranda (Carleton) - Bye
Krishna Vege (Carleton) def. Brian Lindberg (St. Scholastica) --- 6-1, 7-5
Second Round
Austin Taylor (Carleton) def. Justin Loeffler (St. Mary's) --- 6-2, 6-2
Paul Cooper (Carleton) def. Chris Buckingham (Wartburg) --- 4-6, 6-3, 10-6
Jon Aranda (Carleton) def. Anthony Barhouse (Milwaukee SOE) -- 6-0, 6-0
Krishna Vege (Carleton) def. Will Krieger (UW-Whitewater) --- 6-2, 6-4
Third Round
Derek Taylor (UW-Whitewater) def. Austin Taylor (Carleton) --- 6-0, 6-1
Paul Cooper (Carleton) def. David Stingley (UW-Eau Claire) --- 6-3, 6-4
Jon Aranda (Carleton) def. Brooks Stapleton (Gustavus) --- 6-4, 6-3
Krishna Vege (Carleton) def. David Jacobsen (Dubuque) --- 4-6, 6-4, 10-5
Fourth Round
Paul Cooper (Carleton) def. Connor Illies (Gustavus) --- 7-5, 2-6, 1-0(7)
RJ Rademacher (UW-Whitewater) def. Jon Aranda (Carleton) --- 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (3)
Krishna Vege (Carleton) def. Andy Satania (St. Olaf) --- 6-1, 7-6 (4)
Quarterfinals
Paul Cooper (Carleton) def. Mark Sansait (UW-Whitewater) --- 4-6, 6-3, 1-0(5)
Ben Schwartz (UW-Whitewater) def. Krishna Vege (Carleton) --- 6-3, 6-4
Semifinals
Tucker Morris (Bethel) def. Paul Cooper (Carleton) --- 7-6(5), 5-7, 1-0(7)
Midwest Open Doubles
First Round
Alex Chin/Austin Jiang (Carleton) def. Chris Matteson/David Jacobsen (Dubuque) --- 8-3
Austin Taylor/Krishna Vege (Carleton) - Bye
Second Round
Alex Chin/Austin Jiang (Carleton) def. Joel Cassens/Tucker Morris (Bethel) --- 8-3
Alex Kaker/Rishab Sachdeva (UW-La Crosse) def. Austin Taylor/Krishna Vege (Carleton) --- 9-7
Third Round
Alex Chin/Austin Jiang (Carleton) def. Brady Porter/Mark Sansait (UW-Whitewater) --- 8-5
Quarterfinals
Alex Chin/Austin Jiang (Carleton) def. Connor Illies/Michael Lieberman (Gustavus) --- 8-4
Semifinals
Mitch Eslick/Tom Koenen (Wartburg) def. Alex Chin/Austin Jiang (Carleton) --- 8-3
