Gonzaga University
Saint Mary's
Zags Sweep Gaels on Senior Day
4/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
SPOKANE, Wash.--The Gonzaga University men's tennis team celebrated Senior Day in a big way Friday afternoon, sweeping Saint Mary's 4-0 in their final home match of the season at The Stevens Center in Spokane.
The Zags began the day by winning both doubles matches that finished. On court one, senior Hayden Smith and freshman Jordan Smith picked up their second sweep of the dual season with a 6-0 win over Alex Hunt and James Markiewicz on court one. The win was their 14th overall and fourth of the West Coast Conference season. On court two, the freshman duo of Emilio Moreno and Ruadhan O'Sullivan clinched the pairs point with a 6-2 win. That is the fifth win of the year for Moreno and O'Sullivan
At No. 3 doubles, senior Vicente Varas saw his final doubles contest at home remain unfinished as he and Ronzai Saurombe saw their match against Jacob Lagman and Alec Wagner halted with the score at 3-3.
Once singles started, O'Sullivan and H. Smith quickly put the Zags on the brink of victory. At No. 2 singles, O'Sullivan downed James Markiewicz 6-4, 6-1 to remain undefeated at home on the year. The Cherrybrook, Australia native won all eight of his matches inside The Stevens Center and is 13-4 on the dual season.
Just a couple minutes after O'Sullivan finished off his win, Hayden ended his collegiate home career with a similar 6-4, 6-1 score. That win, over Nash Vollenweider at No. 3 singles, was his 11th of the year and fifth in dual play. He now has 46 in his four-year career. The 46th put Gonzaga up 3-0 on the the day
Two Zags -- both J. Smith and Moreno -- were competing to clinch the match at Nos. 1 and 4 singles respectively, but Smith won the race to two sets with a 6-2, 6-3 victory. He downed Hunt for his 10th dual win of the year and 17th when considering tournament play. Despite being just a few points short of a win at 6-1, 5-2, Moreno's match remained unfinished.
Two others were halted: Saurombe led Matthew Campana at No. 6 singles by a set and Varas trailed Manuel De Luis by a set at No. 5 singles.
"In doubles, we just made the other teams play," said Gonzaga head coach Pete MacDonald. "They kept putting serves in and dominated the middle of the net and took control. These guys' spirits are high and they want to win their last two matches. Good execution in both singles and doubles is important, but we do need to stay focused on the next match ahead of us."
With a 5-13 overall record and 2-6 WCC mark, the Zags are still in contention for sixth place in the conference and a bid to the WCC Championships held in two weeks in San Diego, Calif. After the match, the Zags are in eighth place but even in wins with Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara, who are tied for sixth. Gonzaga's next match is a non-conference affair at Boise State on Saturday, April 23.
