MTEN Week 1 Notes

SPOKANE, Wash.--It's a new year and a new season for the Gonzaga men's tennis team as the Bulldogs' 2017 dual slate begins this weekend with a pair of matches in Seattle.

"The guys have been working really hard in training, and everybody's excited to get started", said Gonzaga head coach Peter MacDonald. "We're ready to go and test ourselves against some really good teams this year."

The Bulldogs look to carry over fall successes into their spring duals. The seven Zags combined to go 65-39 (.625) in singles play with four different players winning at least 10 matches. Freshman Vincent Rettke tallied a team-best 11-5 record, while fellow newcomer Kyle Everly also picked up 11 singles wins. Sophomore Ruadhan O'Sullivan finished the tournament season with the second-best winning percentage at 10-5, and freshman Sam Feit went 10-7. All seven Zags finished the fall with at least seven wins.

Also, three Bulldogs won bracket titles during tournament play: Everly, O'Sullivan, and Emilio Moreno. Everly and O'Sullivan combined to sweep the two singles brackets at the EWU Fall Classic while Moreno claimed the B title of the Bulldog Classic. Gonzaga also picked up a pair of consolation bracket victories at UC Davis as well.

With six underclassmen on the squad, the fall tournament season was key for the Zags' development. The five tournaments in the fall gave everyone important on-court experience and preparation for the upcoming dual slate.

"We have a fairly young team, so every time they had success on the court last fall, they were able to work on and execute the things we work on in practice," said MacDonald. "Whether they won or lost, it was more about how they played. Their goal was to be aggressive, and when we look back on the fall, everyone had a highlight. That definitely gives us some confidence heading into the spring."

Three current Zags spent time in the dual lineup in 2016. O'Sullivan played in the top half of the lineup, spending most of the year at No. 2 singles. He led the West Coast Conference's freshmen with 13 dual wins in 2016. Moreno climbed to No. 4 singles by the end of the year, and Ronzai Saurombe played at Nos. 5 and 6 during his first season as a Zag, too. These three will provide dual experience up and down the courts for Gonzaga.

The four freshmen - Everly, Feit, Rettke, and Simon Homedes Dualde - will round out GU's lineup, and All four have shown flashes of strong play so far on the college circuit. Everly won his first four collegiate matches to claim a EWU Fall Classic singles bracket, and Feit also won four in a row to take a consolation flight at the Aggie Invitational. Rettke, meanwhile, reached the Round of 32 at the USTA/ITA Northwest Regionals, and Homedes Dualde picked up a handful of quality wins at the Bulldog Classic and the Duck Invitational to end the fall.

Homedes Dualde and Feit also make up the Zags' most successful doubles team from the fall as the freshmen went 4-4, reaching the consolation semifinal at the Zags' own tournament. Everly and Rettke also played five matches together during the fall, as did Moreno and O'Sullivan.

"With a seven-man team, they'll all be contributing in some fashion this season," MacDonald said of his squad. "The freshmen need to keep it simple and do the best they can to execute like they did in the fall. Our three returners, I expect to see some leadership out of them. They've been around for a year and a half now and can show the freshmen the ropes."

Gonzaga will begin its 20-match dual slate on Saturday, Jan. 21 against Utah State in Seattle. After an away match against Washington, the Zags kick off the 11-match home schedule with a Jan. 28 contest against Eastern Washington. They'll also welcome foes such as Idaho, Sacramento State, and Air Force during non-conference play. The WCC calendar will begin March 25 at San Francisco and conclude at home against Pepperdine April 23.

All home matches will be played at The Stevens Center, located just a few blocks east of campus. Live stats and streams of all home matches in addition to select road contests may be found at www.GoZags.com.

Week 1 Game Notes

NEW YEAR, NEW YOU:

• Of Gonzaga's seven players, three will be making their second tour of duty with the Bulldogs...Emilio Moreno (So.), Ruadhan O'Sullivan (So.), and Ronzai Saurombe (Sr.) all played last year, their first with the squad...O'Sullivan led all Zags and all WCC freshmen with 13 dual victories.
• Four freshmen will be seeing their first dual matches this weekend: Kyle Everly, Sam Feit, Simon Homedes Dualde, and Vincent Rettke...Everly, Feit, and Rettke each tallied 10 or more singles wins during the tournament season, and Homedes Dualde picked up a victory over an opponent with five ATP points during the Bulldog Classic.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS:

• Gonzaga opens the dual season versus Utah State...this will be the third consecutive year the two squads have met, and seventh since 2000...Utah State leads the series 5-1 with GU's win coming in 2000 at home.
• The Aggies won last season's contest 5-2 in Logan, Utah...Emilio Moreno and Jordan Smith each won three-setters to claim a point for Gonzaga...in 2015, the Zags narrowly lost 4-3, claiming three singles points...that match too was GU's season opener.
• Utah State finished 21-8 last season, winning the Mountain West regular season title...the top half of the Aggies' lineup returns for the 2017 dual season, but two everyday players in the Nos. 4-6 slots left...returner and last year's No. 1 Jamie Barajas earned Mountain West Player of the Year in 2016...this is head coach James Wilson's first year at the helm of the program.
• The Zags and Huskies have met 12 times since the year 2000, all of which have resulted in UW victories...last year, Gonzaga earned its first points off UW since 2001 when Ruadhan O'Sullivan and Jordan Smith each won their singles match...O'Sullivan beat Jake Douglas in three sets at No. 2 singles while Smith did the same to Enzo Sommer in the third position.
• Washington returns nine of 10 players from last season's NCAA squad...the Huskies fell in the first round to SMU 5-0...21-win Mitch Stewart won 15 dual matches and 21 singles contests total last season and enters this year ranked No. 60 by the ITA...all six 10-match winners return for the 2017 season...head coach Matt Anger is in his 23rd season.

GETTING AN EARLY JUMP:

• The Bulldogs have seen plenty of early dual success as of late, winning five of their last six season openers (since 2011)...two of those wins have come on the road as the Zags beat Seattle U in Seattle to begin the 2011 and 2013 seasons.
• Emilio Moreno, Ruadhan O'Sullivan, and Ronzai Saurombe each won their season-opening singles match last year against Eastern Washington...both Moreno and O'Sullivan saw strong two-set wins while Saurombe came from behind to win in a third set super tiebreak...Saurombe also won a doubles match against the Eagles.

FALL RECAP:

• The Zags saw a busy tournament season last fall, playing in five tournaments...three different Bulldogs won singles brackets: Kyle Everly (EWU Fall Classic Black Singles), Ruadhan O'Sullivan (EWU Fall Classic Red Singles), and Emilio Moreno (Bulldog Classic B Singles)...each were the first bracket titles of their career.
• As a team, the Zags went 65-39 in singles play (.625)...it is the fourth time in the last six years Gonzaga has posted such a tournament singles win percentage...Vincent Rettke led the team with an 11-5 mark (.688), and he and Everly each won 11 matches.

PRESEASON POLLS:

• Gonzaga was picked ninth in the recent WCC Coaches' Poll...the Zags received 17 points...reigning champion Pepperdine was picked to win the conference with 77 points, and three others received a first place vote.