Gustavus Blogs

Aney, Budde Advance at NCAA Doubles Championships

Gustavus men’s tennis players Nick Aney (Jr., Rochester) and Alex Budde (So., Menomonee Falls, Wis.) won their opening round match at the NCAA Doubles Championships, beating Marcos Dias and Daniel Blonquist of Southern Virginia 6-3, 6-4. 

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RESULTS

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Gustavus men’s tennis players Nick Aney (Jr., Rochester) and Alex Budde (So., Menomonee Falls, Wis.) won their opening round match at the NCAA Doubles Championships, beating Arturo Kam and Calvin Chung of Williams 6-3, 6-4. 

“In the doubles Nick and Alex played a fantastic match from start to finish,” Head Coach Tommy Valentini said. “They competed with positive energy, served beautifully and executed well in the key moments. They handled the moment with poise and earned a great win against a very good team from Williams. We’ll look to recover and to be ready for another fun challenge tomorrow. Overall it felt great to be back at the NCAA championships and to be competing on this stage.”

In the singles draw, Aney won the first set 6-4 over Hayden Cassone of Emory University, but dropped the second 7-5 and the third 6-1.

“In the singles Nick played a very strong first set and had a look at it in the second,” Valentini said.  “His opponent raised the level late in the second, and was able to come through in the third. But Nick made great strides preparing for the event and in the match today. He competed with class and maturity represented our program very well. Despite coming up a little short he will learn and grow a lot from the experience.”

Aney and Budde play their second round match Saturday.