Gonzaga University
No. 57 UC Irvine
MTEN Doesn't Go Lightly Against #57 UC Irvine
3/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
IRVINE, Calif.--The Gonzaga University men's tennis team put in an effort much greater than the scoreline suggested Wednesday at No. 57 UC Irvine, falling 4-1 to the Anteaters while forcing five tiebreaks and two third sets at Anteater Tennis Stadium in Irvine.
The doubles competition was another tight one as the teams split the first two doubles matches that finished. At No. 2 doubles, Emilio Moreno and Ruadhan O'Sullivan gave GU an early advantage with a 6-4 victory win, but UC Irvine countered with a 6-4 of its own on court No. 3.
Atop the doubles lineup, a tightly-contested match between Jordan Smith and Hayden Smith of the Bulldogs and Justin Agbayani and Jonathan Poon of UC Irvine decided the doubles point. The Smiths initially went down 2-5 but won three straight and four of the next five games to force a tiebreak. The Anteater duo pulled ahead in the extra frame, however, for a 7-6 (2) win, clinching the opening point.
UC Irvine won the match with the first three singles matches to finish. At No. 6 singles, Ronzai Saurombe returned from injury for his first match since Feb. 13. Squaring off against Vatsal Bajpai, he won four games before falling 6-2, 6-2. Up one spot at No. 5 singles, Vicente Varas put up a stiff test against Agbayani. Varas won four games in the first set and six in the second, forcing a second set tiebreak. Agbayani won the race to seven points in the extra frame, however, downing Varas for the UCI's third point of the day.
The home squad got their clinching point at No. 3 singles, where Jordan Smith also put up a tough fight. He won five games in the first set, forcing Tyler Pham into an extra game. In the second set, Smith forced a tiebreak with six game victories, but the Anteater won the tiebreak and the match.
Moments after Smith lost, O'Sullivan put the finishing touches on a win at No. 2 singles, giving the Zags a well-deserved consolation point. He took his first set against Luca Marquard by a 6-4 tally. Marquard battled back in the second to force a tiebreak, but the GU freshman won that 7-1 for the singles win, his eighth of the dual season.
In the other two singles matches, Moreno and Hayden Smith each picked up a set at the time UCI clinched the dual. O'Sullivan was ahead with a 6-4 first-set win while Smith and Moreno each won their second sets, forcing third sets that would not be finished.
"The guys have been battling and giving it everything they have," said Gonzaga head coach Peter MacDonald. "Both matches have been close, and if we win a doubles point, we can start picking up wins as a team."
The Bulldogs (2-9) will now leave Southern California for one more match during Spring Break, a contest in Seattle at No. 35 Washington.
