ITA Northwest Regionals Day One Results

PALO ALTO, Calif.--For the first time since at least 2003, multiple Gonzaga University women's tennis players reached the third round of the ITA Northwest Regionals Friday as the Bulldogs began the regional tournament, held this year at Taube Family Tennis Stadium in Palo Alto.

Both Sophie Whittle and Alex Bourguignon reached the third round, giving the Bulldogs at least one player in the Round of 32 in each of the last three years. Whittle reached round two via a first round bye, and then the freshman beat Fresno State's Emma Wilson handily 6-0, 6-2 in the Round of 64. Whittle is the only GU freshman to reach the Round of 32 in the last 12 years.

Bourguignon, a sophomore, joined Whittle in the third round after a pair of singles wins on Friday. She beat Seattle U's Kelli Woodman in straight sets during their Round of 128 matchup 6-4, 6-1, moving onto a tough test against the ranked Maja Mladenovic in round two. The Portland player took the first set 1-6, but Bourguignon edged her WCC foe in the second for a 7-6 (4) set win to force a deciding third frame. That set also went into a tiebreak, which Bourguignon won 7-6 (2) for her ticket onward in the tournament.

Meanwhile, senior Samantha Polayes' bid to return to the third round fell just short Friday. The Morgan Hill, Calif., native began singles play with a two-set win over Tiffany Pham of UC Davis, moving on to face Stephane Lin of California in the second round. Lin won the first set of that match 6-1, but Polayes evened the tally with a 5-7 second-round score. The rally didn't hold, however, as Lin won the third set at 6-1 again to move onto the Round of 32. Last season, Polayes was the only Bulldog to win two main bracket singles matches at the Northwest Regional.

One other Bulldog competed in the Regional singles bracket as Nevada Apollo squared off against Washington State's Trang Huynh. Apollo took an early lead with a 4-6 set one victory, but Huynh drew even by taking the second 6-1. The Cougar also won the third set 6-4 for the Round of 64 berth.

The Zags begin the tournament by advancing both doubles pairs to the Round of 32. Polayes and Whittle continued to play well as a pair, beating UC Davis' Kelsie Bryant and Kristy Jorgensen 8-3. They're now 6-3 on the year so far after reaching the doubles final at the Cougar Classic and Doubles Consolation Final at the Saint Mary's Fall Invitational.

Bourguignon and Apollo also picked up a doubles win Friday, beating a pair from host school Stanford in a tiebreak. The Bulldog duo took the Cardinal's Lindsey Kostas and Naomi Rosenberg to a tiebreak, which they won by two points at 8-7 (5). They will face Fresno State's Anneka and Sophie Watts in the Round of 32.

"I'm proud of the way the girls competed today," said Gonzaga assistant coach Megan Falcon. "It's exciting to see the hard work they have been putting in on the practice court and the gym paying off in tournaments."

Gonzaga will continue the ITA Northwest Regionals Saturday, Oct. 24, again at Taube Family Tennis Stadium in Palo Alto. The Zags will begin the day with doubles play at 9:00 a.m., while singles play will start an hour later at 10:00 a.m.

Doubles - Round of 64

Polayes/Whittle (Gonzaga) def. Bryant/Jorgensen (UC Davis) 8-3

Apollo/Bourguignon (Gonzaga) def. Kostas/Rosenberg (Stanford) 8-7 (5)

Singles - Round of 128

Alex Bourguignon (Gonzaga) def. Kelli Woodman (Seattle U) 6-4. 6-1

Trang Huynh (Washington State) def. Nevada Apollo (Gonzaga) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4

Samantha Polayes (Gonzaga) def. Tiffany Pham (UC Davis) 6-3, 7-6 (4)

Singles - Round of 64

Sophie Whittle (Gonzaga) def. Emma Wilson (Fresno State) 6-0, 6-4

Alex Bourguignon (Gonzaga) def. Maja Mladenovic (Portland) 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2)

Stephane Lin (California) def. Samantha Polayes (Gonzaga) 6-1, 5-7, 6-1