Jan. 18, 2017 SPOKANE, Wash.-Sophomore Sophie Whittle earned Preseason All-West Coast Conference honors Wednesday, as announced by the conference office.
Whittle became the first Gonzaga women's tennis player to earn preseason honors under head coach D.J. Gurule. She played No. 1 singles her entire freshman year in 2016, earning First Team All-WCC accolades for doubles play and Second Team All-WCC for singles. The Nipomo, Calif., native set a school record by going 25-9 in doubles play, and she added a 22-11 mark individually. Earlier this January, Whittle also became the first Gonzaga player to be ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's singles poll, coming in at No. 116.
The Bulldogs were also picked to finish third in the conference standings, receiving 64 points and one first-place vote. Gonzaga is just six points behind second-place Saint Mary's. Pepperdine (81 points) was picked to win the conference, while BYU (44) and San Diego (43) round out the top five.
Gonzaga's dual season begins Sunday, January 29, when the Bulldogs host Wyoming at The Stevens Center. That match will begin at 9:00 a.m. Live stats and video for that and all other home matches may be found on www.GoZags.com.
The entire Preseason All-WCC team and Preseason Coaches' Poll may be found below.
2017 All-WCC Preseason Women's Tennis Team
Luisa Stefani, Pepperdine, Soph. |
Laura Gulbe, Pepperdine, Jr. |
Mayci Jones, BYU, Sr. |
Jana McCord, Saint Mary's, Sr. |
Dzina Milovanovic, Pepperdine, Soph. |
Sophie Whittle, Gonzaga, Soph. |
2017 West Coast Conference Women's Tennis Preseason Poll
| Team (First Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. | Pepperdine (9) | 81 |
| 2. | Saint Mary's | 70 |
| 3. | Gonzaga (1) | 64 |
| 4. | BYU | 44 |
| 5. | San Diego | 43 |
| 6. | Loyola Marymount | 39 |
| 7. | San Francisco | 36 |
| 8. | Santa Clara | 33 |
| 9. | Portland | 30 |
| 10. | Pacific | 10 |
