Gonzaga University
No. 35 Washington
Bulldogs Take Two Points off #35 Washington
3/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
SEATTLE--The Gonzaga University men's tennis team took its first points off cross-state foe Washington in more than a decade Friday, winning two singles matches in a 5-2 loss to the 35th-ranked Huskies at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
Gonzaga claimed the final two matches to finish, getting wins from Ruadhan O'Sullivan and Jordan Smith. At No. 2 singles, O'Sullivan took on Jake Douglas, winning the first set in an extra game at 7-5. Douglas won the second set by a break at 4-6, forcing a third set super tiebreak. Late in that extra frame, Douglas held an 8-7 lead, but O'Sullivan won the final three points for a 10-8 win in the third and the match win. It was the Cherrybrook, Australia native's ninth win on the dual year and first over a Pac-12 opponent.
At No. 3 singles, Smith won the final match to finish, dispatching Enzo Sommer in three sets as well. The freshman won the first set in a tiebreak at 7-6, but Sommer bounced back to sweep the second. The UW player also won the first three games in the final set, but Smith bounced back in a big way, winning six of the final seven games for the 7-6, 0-6, 6-4 victory. He has six wins on the dual season and 13 overall.
The Huskies, however, took the first five points for the dual win. They swept the doubles point to begin the match by winning on all three courts and picked up quick wins at Nos. 4 and 1 singles. On court six, Ronzai Saurombe won five total games but fell to foe Piers Foley 6-2, 6-3 in what turned out to be the clinching match.
Senior Vicente Varas forced a tiebreak in the first set of his No. 5 singles match against Sebastian Hawken. Hawken won the extra frame, however, and swept Varas in the second set for the fifth UW point of the afternoon.
O'Sullivan's and Smith's points were the first points GU took off Washington since 2001. During a match on March 30, 2001, Eduardo Kohlberg claimed Gonzaga's lone point, winning a three-set match at No. 2 singles.
After three matches in four days and two states, the Bulldogs (2-10) will return home and take a week break before returning to the courts. They'll next host Montana State at The Stevens Center in Spokane on Friday, March 18. First serve for that contest is slated for 5:00 p.m.
