Tennis has always been a hobby at Gustavus.  By the year 1916, there were already six courts located throughout campus.  The earliest evidence of a school tennis team goes back to 1916 when Gustavus joined the Intercollegiate Tennis Association of Minnesota.  Tryouts for representatives of the school were held to find out who would compete in the spring.  Each player had to pay four dollars to participate to help with the Association’s finances.

    The Gusties first recorded match was against Carleton.  It was a 3-0 loss which can be expected for such a young program.  The first four players for Gustavus were:

    Alfred Lindberg                     Claus Asp

Gustavian “Runes” 1906

Gustavian 1920

Elmer Holmgren

Milton Peterson

The next year, Milton Peterson led the squad to its first victory which was against Mankato and then went on to be the first letterman for the team. They achieved one more victory over Luther College that season.  The 1919 season consisted of three matches and they were all defeats for the Gusties.  The tennis program disappeared for thirteen years and returned for the 1933 season with a coach and a new resolve to make a name for itself in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  The first coach was P.M. Skartvedt pictured below.      

The first winning season was captured by coach John Benson in 1936 and he also won Gustavus her first MIAC championship in 1939.  He led the team through 1944 and the leadership turned over to Coach Roselius who, despite having a 3-2-1 season, coached for one year.

                                        

A string of coaches cycled through the next few years without a winning season: Vic Gustafson for two years, Eric Sovik in 1948, J. Thommen in 1949, and Reverend Rolander in 1950.

    Coach Esbjornson then coached from 1951-1956 without a winning season.  The next seven years went a similar way; no-win seasons with coaches Bob Lavine, Sonny Wanstrom, Gary Lawson, Knute Beckendorff, and John Remington.

    Coach Hollingsworth led from 1964 to 1967, with no losing sesons recorded.  John Remington came back and led from 1968 to 1970 with no losing seasons.

    From 1971 through the present, Gustavus has been the tennis powerhouse of the MIAC and is among the top Division III teams in the country.  Coach Steve Wilkinson has turned the tennis program into a world class standard.  The team is now headed by Tommy Valentini, a former Gusty who in his one season as head coach led the Gusties to another MIAC title.  The team has only lost three MIAC Championships since Wilkinson took over, making it the third winningest team in Division III history.                     

               

                                           

Gustavian 1917