SPOKANE, Wash.—The Gonzaga University women's tennis team will continue its fall tournament season this weekend by sending three players to the USTA/ITA Northwest Regionals, held at Taube Family Tennis Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif.
Three Zags will head south for the tournament as Alex Bourguignon, Samantha Polayes, and Franziska Koehler all will compete in the singles draw. Bourguignon and Polayes will also team up for doubles play.
While the coaching staff would certainly like to see all three Zags advance deep into the tournament they're more concerned about seeing things worked on in practice appear in competition.
"We want to see the process we've been working on during practice come out," said assistant coach Caroline Lilley. "Playing aggressively, developing points, and playing smart tennis—that's what we most want to see this weekend. They should be playing within their limits while still playing aggressively."
Bourguignon, Polayes, and Koehler will have the chance to play against tough competition as the top players from every Division I school in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California will compete in the tournament.
"They'll see the best competition of the year so far," said Lilley of the rest of the field. "Our team will definitely get experience in executing under pressure and in adverse circumstances."
All three Zags played in Gonzaga's season opener, the WSU Cougar Challenge from Sept. 26-Sept. 28. Bourguignon, a freshman, advanced all the way to the championship of the Crimson Singles flight while Koehler reached the Gray Singles consolation championship. Polayes also played in the Crimson Singles bracket, winning a consolation flight match before exiting the tournament.
Polayes and Bourguignon also competed in the Crimson Doubles bracket at Washington State, advancing to the quarterfinals.
The ITA Northwest Regionals will go from Friday, Oct. 10, until Tuesday, Oct. 14th and are hosted by Stanford University. Play on Friday will begin at 8:30 a.m.
