Gonzaga University
Idaho
Zags Just Miss Comeback against Idaho
2/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
SPOKANE, Wash.--Gonzaga University's men's tennis team fought hard to come back against Idaho Monday afternoon, but the Bulldogs' rally fell just short as the Vandals escaped The Stevens Center with a 4-3 win in non-conference action.
After claiming the doubles point to begin the match, Idaho took a 2-0 lead with a win on court No. 6. The Vandals' Lucas Coutinho took the first set 6-1, but sophomore Connor Arend stiffened a bit in the second, winning four games in the second. It wasn't enough, however, as Coutinho held out for the win.
Atop the singles lineup, Hayden Smith put the Zags on the board with a two-set victory of his own as the senior won the first set 6-2 over Felipe Fonseca and took the second in an extra game at 7-5. It's the Breakfast Point, Australia, native's eighth overall win in 2015-16 and second over Fonseca; Smith beat his Idaho counterpart 7-6, 7-6 at the EWU Fall Classic in September.
Fellow Australian Ruadhan O'Sullivan tied the match up with another two-set win on court No. 2. O'Sullivan doubled up foe Odon Barta 6-3 in the first set and edged the Vandal in the second by a similar 7-5 mark for the win, his fifth of the dual season. He's the first Bulldog with five dual wins on the year.
The Vandals responded with a win on court three, claiming their third point of the match. After dropping the first set 6-3, Jordan Smith recovered to take a lead in the second. His opponent, Artem Vasheshnikov, bounced back to go up 5-4 in the frame, but Smith forced extra tennis by tying the set at 5-all. Vasheshnikov claimed the final two games, however, and won an important point for Idaho.
On court five, freshman Emilio Moreno re-tied the team match with a big three-set win. Moreno took an early lead over Mark Kovacs by taking the first set 6-3, but Kovacs returned the favor in the second set 3-6. Both competitors remained close in the third set with neither taking more than a one-game advantage. Moreno did earn a crucial break in the middle of the frame, but the set went into a tiebreak. During that tiebreak, however, Moreno dominated, winning seven of the nine points to ty the team contest once again.
No. 4 singles, the final match on court, decided that team contest. Senior Vicente Varas took an early lead in the match, winning the first set 4-6. During the second, Varas won five games, but it wasn't enough as Idaho's Jackson Varney won seven, evening the score at one set apiece. In the third, Varas won two games in a row in the middle of the frame to go up 3-4. Both players held the rest of their serves, forcing a tiebreak at 6-all. Varney took the tiebreak by a 7-2 tally, finishing off the match in favor of the Vandals.
In all, five of the six singles contests saw extra tennis of some sort with four - H. Smith's, O'Sullivan's, J. Smith's, and Varas' - having sets that ended 7-5 and two - Moreno's and Varas' - being decided by third set tiebreaks.
The Bulldogs (2-4, 0-2 WCC) will return to action Sunday, Feb. 21 as part of a doubleheader with Gonzaga's women's team. First serve for the men's match against Portland State is slated for 9:00 a.m., again at The Stevens Center. GU's women's tennis team will square off against the Idaho women's squad at 1:00 p.m.
