Bulldog Invite Day 2 Results

SPOKANE, Wash.-The Gonzaga University women's tennis team continued to excel Saturday as three doubles pairs and six individuals advanced in their respective flights at the Bulldog Invitational held in The Stevens Center.

The Zags began the day in doubles play with three pairs reaching the bracket's semifinal. Freshmen Nevada Apollo and Graciela Rosas continued their strong play with an 8-3 win over Hannah Sulz and Cam Kincaid of Montana. The GU pair will face teammates Sophie Whittle and Samantha Polayes in the semifinals after the bracket's top seed beat Idaho's Rita Bermudez and Celine Koets 8-4.

In the bottom half of the bracket, Sissi Koehler and Domonique Garley reached the semis after an impressive comeback win. After falling down 2-5, the Zags roared back to force a tiebreak by winning five of the next seven games. During the tiebreak, their form held and they picked up an 8-7 (4) win over Montana's Haley Driver and Francis Dean.

Opposite Koehler and Garley in the bracket, Melanie Yates and Alex Bourguignon took on the flight's second-seeded duo of Michelle Lui and Kelli Woodman. The two Bulldogs pulled out to an early lead at 4-3, but the Redhawk duo won the match to prevent an all-Gonzaga semifinal.

Three of the Blue Singles bracket's four Bulldogs advanced into the semifinals Saturday. Two of those Zags â€" Apollo and Polayes â€" picked up a pair of wins in the flight while Whittle, the bracket's top seed, needed just one for the semifinal pass. In the second round, Apollo squared off against Portland State's Dane Vorster, beating the Viking in consecutive 6-3 sets. For her quarterfinal matchup, the Las Vegas native played Seattle U's Michelle Lui. Apollo took the first set against the Redhawk by a break at 6-4, and she won the second by two breaks at 6-2. Polayes also won a pair of two-setters Saturday, beating PSU's Peri 6-1, 6-3 and Idaho's Ana Batiri 6-3, 7-6 (2).

Like Apollo and Polayes, Whittle needed just two sets to get by Sulz, winning 7-6 (2), 6-1.

Also in the Blue Singles flight, Bourguignon picked up an early win, beating Francis Dean 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the second round. The sophomore fell to Eastern's Janaya Smith in the quarterfinals, however, preventing an all-Gonzaga affair in the semis.

In the Red Singles bracket, Garley advanced to the finals with a pair of strong victories on Saturday. The Fort Worth, Texas native won all four sets she played, beating Kelsey Frey 6-0, 6-2 in the quarterfinals and Erin Blessing 6-3, 6-1 in the semis. She'll square off against Lucia Badillos of Idaho for the flight title on Sunday.

In the Red Singles Consolation, Yates played Montana's Cat Orfanos. Orfanos won the first set 6-4, but Yates countered with a 2-6 second-set victory. In the third set super tiebreak, however, Orfanos bounced back for a 10-5 win.

Wrapping up the day in the White Singles bracket, Rosas advanced to the semifinals with a two-setter against Haley Driver of Montana. Rosas doubled Driver up in the first set 6-3 but went to a tiebreak in the second before winning that 7-3 for a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win and a trip to the bracket's semifinals.

Koehler, meanwhile, played her White Singles semifinal match, squaring off against Kailyn Skjonsby of Seattle U. Like her first singles match of the weekend, Koehler went to three sets after falling in the first but winning the second. Also like her first match of the weekend, Koehler won the third for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 ticket to the bracket's championship match

"Today was a great day," said Gonzaga head coach D.J. Gurule. "It's nice to see all our hard work paying off with this many girls playing on Sunday. It's a testament to the effort the team has put in during practice."

The Zags will wrap up both the Bulldog Invitational and the fall tournament schedule Sunday, Nov. 8. Play will begin with both singles and doubles going off at 8:00 a.m., again at The Stevens Center.

Doubles Main â€" Quarterfinals

Whittle/Polayes (Gonzaga) def. Bermudez/Koets (Idaho) 8-4

Apollo/Rosas (Gonzaga) def. Sulz/Kincaid (Montana) 8-3

Koehler/Garley (Gonzaga) def. Driver/Dean (Montana) 8-7 (4)

Lui/Woodman (Seattle U) def. Yates/Bourguignon (Gonzaga) 8-6

Blue Singles â€" Second Round

Nevada Apollo (Gonzaga) def. Dane Vorster (Portland State) 6-3, 6-3

Samantha Polayes (Gonzaga) def. Siena Peri (Portland State) 6-1, 6-3

Alex Bourguignon (Gonzaga) def. Francis Dean (Montana) 7-6 (2), 6-4)

Blue Singles â€" Quarterfinals

Sophie Whittle (Gonzaga) def. Hannah Sulz (Montana) 7-6 (2), 6-1

Nevada Apollo (Gonzaga) def. Michelle Lui (Seattle U) 6-4, 6-2

Janaya Smith (Eastern Washington) def. Alex Bourguignon (Gonzaga) 6-4, 6-2

Samantha Polayes (Gonzaga) def. Ana Batiri (Idaho) 6-3, 7-6 (2)

Red Singles â€" Quarterfinals

Domonique Garley (Gonzaga) def. Kelsey Frey (Portland State) 6-0, 6-2

Red Singles â€" Semifinals

Domonique Garley (Gonzaga) def. Erin Blessing (Eastern Washington) 6-3, 6-1

Red Singles â€" Consolation â€" Quarterfinals

Cat Orfanos (Montana) def. Melanie Yates (Gonzaga) 6-4, 2-6, 10-5

White Singles â€" Quarterfinals

Graciela Rosas (Gonzaga) def. Haley Driver (Montana) 6-3, 7-6 (3)

White Singles â€" Semifinals

Sissi Koehler (Gonzaga) def. Kailyn Skjonsby (Seattle U) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2