Bulldog Invite Final Results

SPOKANE, Wash.-The Gonzaga University women's tennis team wrapped up the fall season in style Sunday, winning three bracket titles at their own Bulldog Invitational at The Stevens Center.

The doubles final was an all-Gonzaga affair and the team's first flight title as the duos of Samantha Polayes/Sophie Whittle and Sissi Koehler/Domonique Garley competed for the championship. In the final match, Polayes and Whittle bounced out to an early 2-1 lead, but Koehler and Garley picked up a pair of breaks over the next few games to take a 4-7 advantage. Facing elimination, the two California natives stormed back to force a tiebreak at 7-all, and their hot play continued into the extra points as they took the match 8-7 (4). This was Polayes and Whittle's first doubles title of the fall in two attempts.

The bracket champions reached the final with a win over teammates Nevada Apollo and Graciela Rosas in the semifinals. Apollo and Rosas, both freshmen, hung with their top-seeded opponents for much of the match, but Polayes and Whittle pulled ahead at the end for an 8-5 win. Koehler and Garley, meanwhile, faced the second-seeded pair of Michelle Lui and Kelli Woodman of Seattle U in the other semifinal. Lui and Woodman were ahead by three games late in the match at 4-7, but the Bulldog duo buckled down to force a tiebreak at 7-all. The Zag duo won that tiebreak 7-5 to clinch the Gonzaga-Gonzaga final.

Whittle picked up a second bracket title later in the day, prevailing in a tough three-set match against Eastern Washington's Janaya Smith for the Blue Singles championship. Whittle won the first set handily at 6-2, but Smith countered with a 3-6 victory in the second. In the deciding third set, Smith picked up a break on the Bulldog, pulling ahead at 3-4. Whittle then held serve to tie the match at 4-all, and she followed up by breaking Smith's serve to take the lead at 5-4. The Nipomo, Calif., native then held her serve to clinch the match with a 6-4 win in the third set. It too was the first individual bracket title this fall for the freshman.

In the semifinals of that flight, Whittle topped Apollo in a hard-fought match between the two teammates. After dropping the first set in the other semifinal match, Polayes took a second set lead on Smith, but the Eagle rallied back to take the contest in two frames, solidifying the Eastern Washington/Gonzaga championship match.

Gonzaga also won the White Singles bracket by virtue of having Bulldogs as both finals contestants. Koehler already booked her ticket to the championship match with a semifinal win Nov. 8, and Rosas received hers with a cool two-set win over Nonie Alexandersen of Idaho State. The Zag won the first set with ease 6-1, and she picked up the second by a break at 6-4. The win was the Mexicali, Mexico, native's fifth of the fall. The White Singles championship match, however, was left unplayed.

The Bulldogs also took second place in the Red Singles bracket after Garley squared off against Lucia Badillos of Idaho for the bracket title. The Vandal won the championship match in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

"Overall, it was a great weekend for our team," said Gonzaga head coach D.J. Gurule. "We played some great matches in front of great crowds, and it was really nice to pick up a few bracket wins along the way. We've got a strong foundation to build on for the dual season."

With the end of the fall tournament schedule, Whittle leads the Zags with a 13-3 record individually, and Apollo also has double-digit wins with a 10-5 mark. Polayes and Whittle make up the leading doubles pair with at 12-4 on the year. The Zags now have over two months until the dual schedule starts up in January.

Doubles Main â€" Semifinals

Polayes/Whittle (Gonzaga) def. Apollo/Rosas (Gonzaga) 8-5

Koehler/Garley (Gonzaga) def. Lui/Woodman (Seattle U) 8-7 (5)

Doubles Main â€" Final

Polayes/Whittle (Gonzaga) def. Koehler/Garley (Gonzaga) 8-7 (4)

Blue Singles â€" Semifinal

Sophie Whittle (Gonzaga) vs. Nevada Apollo (Gonzaga)

Janaya Smith (Eastern Washington) def. Samantha Polayes (Gonzaga) 6-4, 7-5

Blue Singles â€" Final

Sophie Whittle def. Janaya Smith (Eastern Washington) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4

Red Singles - Final

Lucia Badillos (Idaho) def. Domonique Garley (Gonzaga) 6-3, 6-3

White Singles - Semifinal

Graciela Rosas (Gonzaga) def. Nonie Alexandersen (Idaho State) 6-1, 6-4

White Singles â€" Final

Sissi Koehler (Gonzaga) vs. Graciela Rosas (Gonzaga); DNP