Men's Tennis set for fall tournament

September 26, 2004

Gustavus News Release

Defending tennis singles champion Loren Collins and doubles champions Adam Morgan and Brett Morse-Karzen are back to defend their titles as Gustavus hosts the Wilson/ITA Midwest Men's Regional for the 20th consecutive year.

The three-day meet begins Friday and runs through next Sunday in St. Peter as 22 NCAA III schools from Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota will compete for a singles and doubles title, All American honors, and a trip to Fort Myers, Fla., for the national championship from Oct. 14-16. Next the Division III champions compete against Division II, NAIA, and Junior College champions for the Small College Superbowl title.

Gustie All American Loren Collins from Dallas, Tex,. is top seeded the field of 97 singles entrants. Last year he finished third at the Division III national tournament. He will be challenged by #2 seeded Brad Livingston from Carthage College, #3 Adam Morgan from Gustavus, and #4 Justin Gaard from St. Thomas, a high-ranking transfer from the University of Iowa where he played at the top of their lineup. Other seeded players include #5 Brian Thomas from St. Thomas, #6 Ryan Yao from Coe College, #7 William Holmes from Carleton, and #8 Ben Lundell from Gustavus. UST has a third seeded player in No. 17 Tut Fuller.

Gustie All Americans Adam Morgan from Inverness, Ill., and Brett Morse-Karzen from Wilmette, Ill., are top seeded in doubles among 53 entered teams. Last year they finished fourth at the Division III national tournament. This year's challengers include #2 Justin Gaard and Blair Madsen (St. Thomas), #3 Brad Livingston and Alex Donkor (Carthage), #4 Jesse Brauer and Ben Lundell (Gustavus), #5 Brian Thomas and Tut Fuller (St. Thomas), and #6 Andy and Roy Bryan (Gustavus).

Another singles and doubles tournament, the Midwest Open, accompanies the Wilson/ITA Regional. Fifty-four more singles players and 26 additional doubles teams will compete for separate titles. Competition in both tournaments begins at 9 a.m. Friday and ends on Sunday, with the singles finals at noon and the doubles finals at 3 p.m. Tournament headquarters is the Swanson Indoor Tennis Center. Matches will also be played at the Brown Outdoor Courts (in front of Swanson), Gibbs Tennis Center (next to the College entrance), South Courts (southeast corner of campus), St. Peter High School, and Veteran's Field. In case of rain on Friday the Owatonna Indoor will be used for the bottom half of the singles draw. The top half of the singles draw and all indoor play on Saturday and Sunday will be in the Swanson Center on the Gustavus campus.