April 9, 2016 Box Score
SPOKANE, Wash.--The Gonzaga University women's tennis squad picked up its first point off Pepperdine in 12 years Saturday by winning the doubles point, but it wasn't enough as the Waves prevailed in the battle between the WCC's top two teams 4-1.
The Zags took the early dual lead by winning the first and last pairs contests to finish. Sissi Koehler and Domonique Garley picked up their 10th win on the dual year, rushing out to a 6-1 win over Anna Wierda and Danielle Feneridis on court three. The two squads split their first two games, but the Zags won the last five for the early doubles advantage. Pepperdine countered with a win on court two, where Melanie Yates and Alex Bourguignon fell 6-2 to the Waves' Matea Cutura and Dzina Milovanovic.
The match on court one, where Samantha Polayes and Sophie Whittle dueled 17th-ranked Luisa Stefani and Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai, decided the doubles contest. The Wave duo held a 4-5 lead late in the match, but the Bulldogs' pair fought off a match point to tie it at 5-all. They then broke Pepperdine's serve to go up 6-5 before Whittle held her serve to cap off the win and the doubles point for Gonzaga.
In singles play, Pepperdine responded by winning the four singles matches to finish for the win. On court three, freshman Nevada Apollo fell behind Milovanovic early in the first set but fought back to win three games in the frame. Milovanovic took all six games in the second set, however, for a 6-3, 6-0 win.
Atop the singles lineup, two of the top freshmen in the West Coast Conference squared off as Whittle drew Stefani, the No. 2 player in the nation according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Whittle took the first two games of the match, but Stefani won out in the first set and took six of seven in the second for a 6-2, 6-1 victory. Just one court down, Polayes also won three games on the day, but opponent Laura Gulbe took the match 6-1, 6-2.
Pepperdine clinched on court five, where Graciela Rosas pushed Runglerdkriangkrai throughout the first set before losing the frame 7-5. The Waves' junior took the second by a 6-1 scoreline to clinch the match.
On court six, Garley led foe Michaela Capannolo by a set, and Bourguignon trailed Cutura by a frame on court four when both matches were halted.
Entering the match, Pepperdine topped the conference standings at 4-0 in WCC action while the Zags were right behind the Waves at 4-1. Gonzaga's doubles point was the first point the Bulldogs had taken off Pepperdine since 2004.
Despite the loss, Gonzaga (14-3, 4-2 WCC) remains in second place with a half-game lead over Loyola Marymount and Saint Mary's. The Zags are back in action next weekend as they return to the Bay Area for contests against Pacific and Saint Mary's. The match against the Tigers will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 16, at Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center in Stockton, Calif.
