Gonzaga Notes | Montana Preview | Utah State Preview

INSTANT CLASSIC:

• The Bulldogs are coming off one of the most exciting matches in recent history, a 4-3 marathon win against Idaho that lasted four hours and 16 minutes...Idaho won the dual point and two of the first three singles matches, but Gonzaga claimed the last three individual points, all of which were three-set contests...Haruna Tsuruta capped off the dual with a three-hour, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) win at No. 5 singles...in all, five singles contests went three sets, and the entire dual saw six set tiebreaks...Tsuruta earned WCC Singles Player of the Week honors for her victory.

ANOTHER DOUBLE WEEKEND:

• For the second time this season, the Zags will face two opponents this weekend...they've played their first foe, Montana, 20 times since the 1999-2000 season, and they lead that series 12-8...Gonzaga has won each of the last two contests, both of which were 7-0 sweeps...last year's win over the Griz on Jan. 29 was the beginning of GU's 11-match win streak, the longest in program history.
• Montana is 1-6 on the season, most recently playing three matches in Grand Forks, N.D. last weekend...they lost to North Dakota, Northern Iowa, and South Dakota State, all by 5-2 scorelines...Hannah Sulz' 9-11 overall record tops the team, and she's also played all seven duals at No. 1 singles for a 3-4 record...at No. 2 singles, Lidia Dukic is also 3-4 in duals...Ana Carbo and Nathalie Joanlanne is the top doubles pair at 6-5 overall and 3-1 in dual play.
• The Griz made the trip to Spokane for the Bulldog Invite in November, but GU and Montana players only squared off in one doubles match and one singles match...for singles, Graciela Rosas downed Stanzi Stuijt 6-1, 6-2, and in doubles, Haruna Tsuruta and Katie Day beat Carbo and Joanlanne 6-2.
• Sunday's match will be the 10th time Gonzaga and Utah State have squared off since the 1999-2000 season...The Zags lead the series 5-4 after beating the Aggies 4-2 in 2014 and 5-2 last season in Logan, Utah...in the season opener last year, the Zags took the doubles point off Utah State and then won four singles matches, getting wins from Sophie Whittle, Alex Bourguignon, and Graciela Rosas.
• The Aggies are 6-2 on the year, most recently beating Grand Canyon 5-2 at home on Feb. 18...Hannah Jones leads the team with a 19-4 overall record, and she's 6-1 in dual play, mostly at No. 5 singles...Nini Guensler is second with a 5-1 mark atop the singles lineup...in doubles play, eight different pairs have seen dual action, and Guensler/Sabrina Demerath is the most successful pair with a 4-0 mark, three of which have come at No. 1.

GOING EXTRAS:

• After the Idaho contest, every player on the Zags' roster has played a third set this year...in all, the Bulldogs are 14-13 in three-set matches this season...Nevada Apollo and Kate Ketels each have three three-set wins...Domonique Garley, Graciela Rosas, and Haruna Tsuruta each have winning records in three setters.
• The Bulldogs are 11-10 in set tiebreaks during singles play...every Zag but Alex Bourguignon has played at least one tiebreak, and all of those seven have at least one win...Haruna Tsuruta leads the way with three tiebreak victories...when considering both extra games and set tiebreaks, the Zags have gone 25-17 in elongated sets.

LAST MATCH'S STARTING LINEUP: