MTEN Takes on Northwest Regionals

Oct. 21, 2015

ITA Northwest Regionals

Oct. 22-25 | Seattle and Kirkland, Wash. | hosted by Washington

Name	Year	Singles	Doubles	Notable
Connor Arend	So.	2-0	0-1	Reached semifinals of Black Bracket at EWU
Emilio Moreno	Fr.	1-0	1-1	Advanced in EWU's Red Bracket before withdrawing
Ronzai Saurombe	Jr.	2-1	1-1	Made GU debut at EWU, reaching Red Quarterfinals
Hayden Smith	Sr.	2-1	3-0	14-7 career singles record in tournaments
Jordan Smith	Fr.	2-1	3-0	Won Doubles Flight in first NCAA competition
Vicente Varas	Sr.	3-1	0-1	Won first career main bracket title in Cheney

LAST TIME OUT:

Gonzaga picked up two bracket victories in their first tournament of the 2015-16 season: senior Vicente Varas won the black singles bracket of the EWU Fall Classic while senior Hayden Smith and freshman Jordan Smith teamed up to win the doubles bracket.
As the black bracket's top seed, Varas took his first career main flight title in comeback fashion, bouncing back from a first set loss to win 4-6, 6-4, (15-13). Senior Hayden Smith reached the semifinals of the red flight while every other Bulldog won their opening round match.
The Smiths, meanwhile, also took the doubles title via a third set super tiebreak. They dropped the first set 3-6 to the top-ranked squad from Idaho but bounced back to win the second in a tiebreak 7-6 (5). The Aussie duo then prevailed in the super tiebreak 10-5 for the win, GU's second consecutive doubles bracket win at the tournament. Seniors Nick Kamisar and Alvaro Nazal won the top doubles flight in 2014.

TAKING THE WAY-BACK MACHINE:

Last year's ITA Northwest Regional was the best in Gonzaga history. Nazal reached the tournament's semifinal round, the deepest run any Bulldog has made in the regional championship. He won five matches during the run, including a win over then-No. 88 Emmett Egger of Washington. Also, he and Kamisar picked up a main bracket doubles victory at the tournament to reach the Round of 32.
Of current Zags, only Varas competed in ITAs last season as neither Smith nor Arend made the trip to Palo Alto, Calif. Varas won his opening round singles match in two sets but fell in the second round to the bracket's top seed. The Sammamish, Wash., native picked up a consolation victory, however, and left the tournament with a 2-1 individual record. He and partner Sergio Chip lost both their doubles matches.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE:

All Bulldogs picked up at least one singles win at the EWU Fall Classic, but the Zags were definitely bolstered by their two seniors, Hayden Smith and Vicente Varas. Varas won the Black Singles bracket in Cheney, beating a pair of Eagles along the way. The Sammamish, Wash. native also picked up a non-bracket win over Gus Orlando of Seattle U for a team-leading third win of the season.
Smith, meanwhile, reached the semifinals of the Red Singles bracket with wins over competition from Seattle U and Idaho before falling to eventual champion Robert Dula. A native of Breakfast Point, Australia, Smith teamed up with the squad's other Aussie in Jordan Smith to go 3-0 in doubles play and win that bracket.

NEW FACES:

Three players made their Gonzaga debuts at the EWU Fall Classic. Junior Ronzai Saurombe picked up three total wins in his first Division I competition; Saurombe won the 2013 Junior College ITA Doubles championship for Seward County CC before transferring to GU. Freshmen Emilio Moreno and Jordan Smith each made their collegiate debuts in September. Both picked up at least two combined wins, and Smith won EWU's Doubles flight.

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