Bulldog Invite Day 1 Results

SPOKANE, Wash.--The Gonzaga University women's tennis team saw a rocking start to its own Bulldog Invitational Friday, advancing all four doubles pairs and seven individuals on day one of the tournament held at The Stevens Center in Spokane.

After advancing all four doubles teams onward, the Zags are in half of the main bracket's quarterfinal matchups. The freshman duo of Nevada Apollo and Graciela Rosas got the Bulldogs started on the day, doubling up Montana State's Naomi Holopainen and Laura Middel 8-4. In their second round matchup, the young Bulldogs took down Eastern Washington's Dani Young and Katrina Domingo 8-3 for a ticket to the quarterfinals.

The team of Sissi Koehler and Domonique Garley continued to work together well Friday, picking up two more solid wins for five victories on the year. They opened the tournament with an 8-3 win over Seattle U's Barbara Carey and Kailyn Skjonsby, and they took down Idaho's Belen Barcenilla and Maria Tavares by the same score. The Vandal duo entered the match as the bracket's No. 3 seed.

Also picking up two doubles wins on the day was the Zags' most experienced pair of Melanie Yates and Alex Bourguignon. The senior/sophomore duo got off to a roaring start, winning all eight games against Montana's Ana Carbo and Stanzi Stuijt. In the second round they faced stiffer competition but still prevailed 8-5 for their ticket onward.

Earning a bye past the first round, the top-seeded pair of Samantha Polayes and Sophie Whittle needed just one win to advance to the quarters, getting that in an 8-2 victory against the Eagles' Erin Blessing and Jennifer Lewis. The Bulldog pair have advanced to the quarterfinals in three of their four tournaments this season.

The Zags were just as strong in singles play with seven individuals picking up wins Friday. In the top flight, the Blue Singles bracket, all four Bulldogs picked up wins. In the first round, Apollo posted the big win, breezing past Idaho State's Laura Gutierrez with consecutive 6-0 sets. Polayes also swept her first set against Eastern Washington's Dani Yong, but Young fought back in the second, forcing a tiebreak in the frame. Polayes pulled out the tiebreak win, however, taking the match 6-0, 7-6 (6). Also playing in the first round of the Blue Singles bracket, Bourguignon beat Middel 6-1, 6-3 to move forward.

As the flight's top seed, Whittle moved directly into the second round with a bye. In that second round match, the freshman squared off against SU's Madison Maloney, and she advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win.

In the Red Singles bracket, Garley also posted a dominating victory, prevailing by a 6-2, 6-0 score over Carbo. It was the freshman's seventh singles win of the season. Also in the first round, Yates suffered the Zags' sole defeat of the day as she fell in straight sets to Faye Worrall of Eastern Washington.

Two more Zags competed in the White Singles bracket. Rosas opened Gonzaga's involvement in the flight with a strong performance, winning 12 of 13 games in a two-set win over Alana Chaplin of Portland State. In the flight's second round, top-seeded Koehler faced a feisty Shelby Cerkovnik of Montana State. Cerkovnik took the first set 3-6, but Koehler bounced back to take the second by a score of 6-4 to force a deciding third frame. The senior prevailed in the final set by a score of 6-4, earning the win by breaking the Bobcat's serve in the final game.

"We're happy with the way we competed today, and it's always nice to play on our home courts at The Stevens Center," said Gonzaga head coach D.J. Gurule. "We are looking forward to continuing our strong play tomorrow."

The Zags will continue play at the Bulldog Invitational, their final tournament of the fall season, on Saturday, Nov. 7. Doubles matches will begin at 8:00 a.m. while the first singles contests take the court at 9:30 a.m.

Doubles -- First Round

Apollo/Rosas (Gonzaga) def. Holopainen/Middel (Montana State) 8-4

Koehler/Garley (Gonzaga) def. Carey/Skjonsby (Seattle U) 8-3

Yates/Bourguignon (Gonzaga) def. Carbo/Stuijt (Montana) 8-0

Doubles -- Second Round

Polayes/Whittle (Gonzaga) def. Blessing/Lewis (Eastern Washington) 8-2

Apollo/Rosas (Gonzaga) def. Young/Domingo (Eastern Washington) 8-3

Koehler/Garley (Gonzaga) def. Barcenilla/Tavares (Idaho) 8-3

Yates/Bourguignon (Gonzaga) def. Smith/Swindell (Eastern Washington) 8-5

Blue Singles -- First Round

Nevada Apollo (Gonzaga) def. Laura Gutierrez (Idaho State) 6-0, 6-0

Alex Bourguignon (Gonzaga) def. Laura Middel (Montana State) 6-1, 6-3

Samantha Polayes (Gonzaga) def. Dani Yong (Eastern Washington) 6-0, 7-6 (6)

Blue Singles -- Second Round

Sophie Whittle (Gonzaga) def. Madison Maloney (Seattle U) 6-2, 6-4

Red Singles -- First Round

Faye Worrall (Eastern Washington) def. Melanie Yates (Gonzaga) 6-3, 6-4

Domonique Garley (Gonzaga) def. Ana Carbo (Montana) 6-2, 6-0

White Singles -- First Round

Graciela Rosas (Gonzaga) def. Alana Chaplin (Portland State) 6-1, 6-0

Sissi Koehler (Gonzaga) def. Shelby Cerkovnik (Montana State) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4