Gonzaga University
Bulldog Classic Day 3
MTEN Wraps up Fall, Bulldog Classic
11/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
SPOKANE, Wash.--The Gonzaga University men's tennis team wrapped both the fall tournament schedule and its own Bulldog Classic Sunday as Hayden Smith competed in the top singles bracket while Connor Arend and Emilio Moreno played a consolation doubles match at The Stevens Center in Spokane.
In the Blue Singles bracket, Smith fell in a tight contest against top-seeded Mike Pervolarakis of Portland. Pervolarakis gained an early advantage, winning the first set 6-3, but Smith countered with a second-set victory via a tiebreak. Smith bounced back from a one-game deficit to force the tiebreak at 6-6, and he won the final two points of that tiebreak for a 6-7 (5) set two score. In the third, however, Pervolarakis picked up a break on Smith and held on for the 6-4 win. A senior, Smith wraps up the fall tournament season with six singles wins.
In the Zags' only doubles match of the day, Arend and Moreno competed in the semifinal of the consolation bracket, squaring off against Luke Ness and Victor Pereira of Eastern Washington. The Bulldog duo jumped out to an early lead by taking the first two games, but Ness and Pereira pulled even by winning the net two. Arend and Moreno won two more games during the match, but they ended up falling by a score of 6-4.
Playing an unbracketed consolation singles match, junior Ronzai Saurombe faced off against West Coast Conference foe Jamie Fisher of Portland. Fisher won by a score of 6-2, 6-4.
"Overall it was a good weekend," said Gonzaga head coach Peter MacDonald. "I could see the guys feeding off each other's energy and that we're making improvement both as a team and individually. We can see that we have work ahead of us before dual play begins in January, and that's what tournaments like this are for."
With the end of the Bulldog Classic, Gonzaga has concluded the fall tournament season. Freshman Jordan Smith leads the team with seven wins and a 7-3 record, while he and Hayden Smith make up the most successful doubles pair with five wins. The next time the Bulldogs take the court will be in dual play with that season starting in January 2016.
Blue Main - Semifinal
Mike Pervolarakis (Portland) def. Hayden Smith (Gonzaga) 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4
Singles Consolation
Jaime Fisher (Portland) def. Ronzai Saurombe (Gonzaga) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles Consolation - Semifinal
Ness/Pereira (Eastern Washington) def. Moreno/Arend (Gonzaga) 6-4
