ROME, Ga. – Gustavus men’s tennis doubles partners Nick Aney (Sr., Rochester) and Alex Budde (Jr., Menomonee Falls, Wis.) dropped their final two matches at the ITA Cup on Friday at the Rome Tennis Center.
A day removed from upsetting the top seeded team in a third set breaker to earn All-America honors, Aney and Budde were close to advancing in the national doubles draw, but lost 7-6 (4), 7-5 to Esses and Raina of Emory in the quarterfinals. Aney and Budde then lost 6-2, 6-4 against Middlebury’s Harris and Laber.
”The guys competed very hard throughout both matches today,” Head Coach Tommy Valentini said. “They had a lot of looks against a good Emory team in the first match. I was impressed with how well we played on our own serve there and easily could’ve come through. After a tough first set against Middlebury, Nick and Alex showed a lot of character to bounce back and have a look at the second. They came up just short in the third match, but overall they gained a ton of valuable experience this weekend, came away with All-America honors, and will certainly build on the positive things they did throughout the event as we move into the spring.”