March 26, 2016 Box Score
SPOKANE, Wash.--For the second match in a row, the Gonzaga women's tennis team found themselves down entering singles play, but again that didn't matter as the Bulldogs battled back to beat BYU 4-2 at The Stevens Center in Spokane.
Despite a No. 3 doubles win from Sissi Koehler and Domonique Garley, the visiting Cougars took the doubles point by winning on courts two and one, respectively. Gonzaga bounced back immediately, however, as Garley led singles play off with a two-set win. It looked perilous early for the Fort Worth, Texas, native, as Garley fell behind opponent Sarah Clifford 2-5 in the first set, but the freshman rattled off five straight games for a 7-5 first-set victory. In the second, she cruised to a 6-2 win, picking up her 11th consecutive singles victory in the process. It was also her 20th overall win of the year, second-most on the team.
The Cougars re-took the lead with a win at No. 2 singles, but the Zags countered with a lead of their own after two more wins in quick succession. On court three, Nevada Apollo tied the dual at 2-all with a straight-sets win over Natella Nabieva, her 19th of the season. The freshman from Las Vegas took the first set by a break at 6-4, and she won the second by a pair at 6-2. Atop the lineup, Sophie Whittle put the Zags up 3-2 with another two-set win. She dispatched Mayci Jones 6-2, 6-4 for her 22nd singles win of the year. That total is the second-highest among freshman in the conference, only trailing Pepperdine's Louisa Stefani, currently the No. 2 player in the nation.
Up one but trailing on both courts remaining, the Zags needed either Alex Bourguignon or Graciela Rosas to win their second and force a third set. They both did, taking their second sets via tiebreakers. Bourguignon beat Savannah Ware 11-9 in a tiebreak while Rosas beat Taylah Beckman 8-6 in her extra frame. On court No. 4, Bourguignon battled Ware all throughout the third, but Rosas dominated her final set, sweeping Beckman 6-0 to clinch the win for the Zags. It's her 12th dual victory, the most on the squad. Like Garley, Rosas too has won each of her last 11 singles matches.
Bourguignon's match was left unfinished.
With the win, Gonzaga extended its win streak to 11 dual matches, the longest such streak in at least 16 years. The Bulldogs also posted their first-ever win over the Cougars, and the win pushes them to 2-0 in WCC play for the first time since 1999-2000.
"This is a really fun team, and I'm really proud of how we battle and always battle back," said Gonzaga head coach D.J. Gurule. "To face match points and to battle back is a testament to the kids that we have. They're working really hard and that work is showing. They just care about each other so much, believe in each other so much, and that's really special to be around."
The Zags (12-1, 2-0 WCC) will now hit the road for their first two WCC away matches. They begin the two-game trip at San Francisco on Saturday, April 2. That match will begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
