Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash.--It came down to two three-set matches, but the Gonzaga men's tennis team prevailed in a thriller Saturday afternoon as the Bulldogs downed Idaho 4-3 at The Stevens Center in Spokane.

"I'm immensely proud of the guys," said Gonzaga head coach Peter MacDonald. "It was a tough match and they fought hard and they came out on the right end of things. It's a tremendous win for them."

Down 2-3 in the dual, Gonzaga needed to win both singles matches that went to third sets. Simon Homedes Dualde posted the first third-set victory when he ran away from Lucas Coutinho. He and Coutinho split the first two sets, the Zag winning the first and the Vandal taking the second. In the third, the two traded the first four games, but then Homedes Dualde took the lead and ran away for a 6-3 set victory.

With both Idaho and Gonzaga tied at three, the winner of the No. 4 contest between Ronzai Saurombe and Esteban Santibanez decided the dual. Santibanez won the first set 4-6, but the Zags' lone senior countered with a 6-4 second set to force the third. In that deciding third set, Saurombe picked up an early break and used the momentum to finish off the frame 6-3, clinching the Zags' second consecutive dual win.

After the Zags won the doubles point to begin the match, Idaho took the lead with the first three singles matches to finish. Then, on court one, Ruadhan O'Sullivan put the Zags back on the board, downing Mark Kovacs in two sets. He won the first set via an extra game at 7-5 before taking the second by a break at 6-4. The win pulled Gonzaga back to within one.

Gonzaga began the match by winning the doubles point. Saurombe and Homedes Dualde gave Gonzaga the early advantage, coming from down 0-3 to win 6-4 at No. 3 singles. Idaho countered with a 7-5 win on court one, leaving the No. 2 match between Vincent Rettke and Kyle Everly of GU and Santibañez and Guilherme Scarpelli of Idaho to decide the doubles point.

Idaho's No. 2 pair raced out to a big lead at 1-4, but Rettke and Everly bounced back, tying the match at 5-all. Idaho went up again 6-5, but the Zag duo held serve to force a tiebreak. Everly and Rettke won that extra period 7-4, clinching the doubles point for Gonzaga.

"Idaho brought it today, they played well," MacDonald said. "I was impressed by the guys coming back in doubles, by just the fight to win the doubles point, which turned out to be crucial. Roo [O'Sullivan] held it down at one, but the key matches were Simon and Ronzai coming back. When that happened, the momentum changed and Idaho felt us coming back."

With the win, Gonzaga advanced to 2-2 overall and 2-0 at home. The Zags continue the homestand with a Feb. 11 contest against Sacramento State. That contest begins at 11:00 a.m., again inside The Stevens Center.

Gonzaga 4, Idaho 3

Feb 04, 2017 at Spokane, Wash.

The Stevens Center

Singles:

1. O'Sullivan, Ruadhan (GON) def. Kovacs, Mark (UI) 7-5, 6-4

2. Longhi Neto, Carlos (UI) def. Feit, Sam (GON) 6-3, 7-5

3. Fonseca, Felipe (UI) def. Rettke, Vincent (GON) 6-4, 6-4

4. Saurombe, Ronzai (GON) def. Santibanez, Estaban (UI) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3

5. HOMEDES DUALDE,Simon (GON) def. Coutinho,Lucas (UI) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

6. Scarpelli, Guilherme (UI) def. Everly, Kyle (GON) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles:

1. Longhi Neto, Carlos/Kovacs, Mark (UI) def. O'SULLIVAN, Ruadhan/FEIT, Sam (GON) 7-5

2. EVERLY, Kyle/RETTKE, Vincent (GON) def. Coutinho,Lucas/Santibanez, Estaban (UI) 7-6 (7-4)

3. SAUROMBE, Ronzai/HOMEDES DUALDE,Simon (GON) def. Fonseca, Felipe/Scarpelli, Guilherme (UI) 6-4

Match Notes:

Idaho 1-2

Gonzaga 2-2

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,3,2,1,5,4)

T-3:10 A-72