MTEN Announces 2016 Dual Schedule
12/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
2016 Dual Schedule
SPOKANE, Wash.--Gonzaga men's tennis head coach Peter MacDonald announced the Bulldogs' spring 2016 dual schedule Monday. They'll face five of last year's NCAA Tournament participants and host eight matches at The Stevens Center.
The schedule begins at home on Wednesday, Jan. 27, when the Zags host local foe Eastern Washington. GU has won each of the last three matches against the Eagles, posting 6-1 victories in 2013 and 2015. The weekend after hosting EWU, Gonzaga will fly to Tucson, Ariz., for a pair of matches, one against New Mexico State Jan. 30 and another at Arizona Jan. 30. The Aggies were an NCAA Tournament participant a year ago and last year's Western Athletic Conference champion.
After returning from Arizona, the Zags will kick off the conference slate with a home match against Pacific Saturday, Feb. 6. The next weekend, Gonzaga will travel to Portland for a WCC contest against the Pilots on Feb. 13. For the next two matches, they'll continue to face Pacific Northwest foes, hosting Idaho on Monday, Feb. 15 and Portland State Saturday, Feb. 20. Idaho represented the Big Sky Conference in the NCAAs last season.
After those two consecutive home matches, they'll hit the road for five, starting with a pair in the state of Utah. They start their weekend in the Beehive State at WCC foe BYU, who the Bulldogs beat for the first time last season. They'll also take on Utah State Feb. 28, who finished last season ranked in the ITA national poll. Gonzaga will next take on Furman and UC Irvine in southern California during spring break March 7 and 9, respectively, and they'll wrap up the road swing March 11 in Seattle as they take on Washington. Both UC Irvine and Washington also ended last year in the national rankings.
On Friday, March 18, the Zags will return to The Stevens Center for a showdown against Montana State before returning to West Coast Conference action for the next six matches. That stretch begins March 25 in San Diego, and GU will host Santa Clara and San Francisco April 1 and 2. Then, it's back to California for a pair of matches at Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine before wrapping both the home slate and the conference slate Friday, April 15 versus Saint Mary's.
Gonzaga will close out the regular season Saturday, April 23 at Boise State. If they qualify for the six-team WCC Championship tournament, they'll compete for the conference title in San Diego April 27-30.
After the fall season, freshman Jordan Smith has the best record at 7-3, one win ahead of fellow Aussie Hayden Smith. The two combined to go 5-2 in doubles play during the fall, winning the doubles bracket at the EWU Fall Classic. Also at the Eastern Washington-hosted tournament, senior Vicente Varas won his Black Singles bracket. He's 5-4 on the year so far.
