Gonzaga Notes | Eastern Washington Preview

RAINY START TO THE SEASON:

• The Bulldogs opened the 2017 dual slate in Seattle last weekend, squaring off against tough Utah State and Washington teams...the Zags were swept in both matches, but they pushed the Huskies hard last Sunday, forcing two third sets, one set tiebreak, and coming within a single break in all three doubles contests.

BATTLE OF SPOKANE COUNTY:

• Gonzaga and Eastern are frequent foes, playing each other at least once every year since 2000...the series is tied 14-14 in the new millennium, but the Zags have won the last four duals between the local rivals...last year, GU claimed the season-opening dual 6-1, winning the doubles point and five of the six singles contests...current Zags Ruadhan O'Sullivan, Ronzai Saurombe, and Emilio Moreno each picked up singles victories.
• The Eagles are 1-1 on the year, beating Seattle U in Seattle to begin the season but losing to Stanford 4-0 in Palo Alto last weekend...they returned everyone who played on last season's 8-18 squad that took ninth in the Big Sky...Robert Dula tops the lineup and is ranked No. 19 in the Northwest Region by the ITA.

BULLDOGS VS. EAGLES, TOURNAMENT EDITION:

• GU and EWU were frequent competitors during the fall, both making appearances at the other's tournament and also competing in the USTA/ITA Northwest Regionals...in singles play, the Bulldogs went a perfect 10-0 against Eastern foes, topped by Kyle Everly's 3-0 record...Ronzai Saurombe, Sam Feit, and Vincent Rettke each went 2-0.
• Eastern Washington led the doubles matches 4-2...Kyle Everly and Emilio Moreno teamed up for one of those wins, while Feit and Rettke combined for the other.
• GU started the tournament season in Cheney, Wash., at the EWU Fall Classic...the Zags swept the two singles brackets, claiming both finalist spots in Red Singles and all four semifinal positions in the Black Singles...half of Gonzaga's 10 tournament wins versus EWU came during that competition...the other five came over a month later at Gonzaga's Bulldog Classic, where Moreno won the B Singles flight.

HOME SWEET HOME:

• Since opening in January 2014, the Zags have defended their new home inside The Stevens Center well...GU has posted a 17-14 dual record at home over the last three years, and they're well above .500 in both singles and doubles matches when considering fall tournaments as well...Ruadhan O'Sullivan has been particularly strong at home, going 8-0 in duals last year and 3-1 in this year's Bulldog Classic.
• In singles play inside The Stevens Center, the Zags have combined for a 136-104 (.567) record...in doubles play, they're 65-45 (.591)...they've gone .500 or better in all three dual seasons inside the facility.
• Gonzaga was 4-4 in home matches last year, getting wins over Eastern Washington, Montana State, San Francisco, and Saint Mary's...the Bulldogs were 6-4 in 2015 and 7-6 in 2014.

PREVIOUS MATCH'S LINEUP: