LOS ANGELES – Women's tennis senior Sophie Whittle completed her historical run at the ITA/Riviera All-American Championships Sunday afternoon with a three-set victory over Maria Mateas of Duke. Whittle becomes Gonzaga's first-ever ITA National Champion, and she has qualified for the Oracle ITA Fall National Championships Nov. 7-11 in Surprise, Ariz.
 
"I couldn't have done this without my teammates, coaches and trainers," Whittle said. "I'm just so happy. This will put Gonzaga on the map, and we'll just keep getting better as a program. I'm just so excited about that. It's not just on me, it's on everyone else too. I'm really happy about that."
 
Whittle raced out to a 3-0 set lead in the first set, but Mateas won back-to-back games to cut the lead to 3-2. Whittle maintained a one-game lead throughout the first set and battled for the 6-4 win. In the second set, Whittle claimed a late 5-4 lead and led 40-30 on match point, but Mateas countered. Mateas won three-straight games to take the set, 7-5.
 
The final set was a fight as both players traded points for the first few games. Midway through the set, Whittle took at 4-2 lead and extended the lead to 5-2 late in the set. Mateas extended the match, winning the eighth game to cut Whittle's lead to two, 5-3. Whittle responded, taking the final game to win the set 6-3 and take the match.
 
"It's an amazing accomplishment, obviously, to be a national champion, but the manner in which she did it is unprecedented," head women's tennis coach D.J. Gurule said. "Her fitness was phenomenal, and it carried her through the tournament, but like I said before, the big difference was her mentality. The final match was a perfect example, rolling her ankle and giving up back-to-back match points. She believes in her game, her teammates and her coaches, and that's going to carry her a long way."
 
Whittle won eight matches in six days, including five matches over ranked opponents and three over Top 15 players, to take home Gonzaga's first-ever ITA/Riviera All-American title. For Whittle, the tournament began in the qualifying rounds, where she opened with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Florida's Victoria Emma followed by a 6-2, 6-1 rout over Stanford's Janice Shin. Whittle earned her bid to the Main Singles Draw with a 4-6, 6-0, 7-6(5) win over Georgia's Marta Gonzalez, currently ranked 76^th.
 
Whittle's journey continued in the Main Singles Draw, where she defeated four straight ranked opponents: No. 9 Stacey Fung (Washington), No. 44 Kenya Jones (Georgia Tech), No. 12 Kelly Chen (Duke), and No 7 Fernanda Contreras (Vanderbilt, defending ITA/Riviera All-American Champion).
 
"It sounds funny, but she's earned herself a couple of days off," Gurule said laughing. "I think it's just proof that Sophie has worked so hard. It has shown that here at Gonzaga, we are willing to develop and get better. She came to this tournament last year and didn't do as well as she wanted. This was on her radar, and she knew she had the talent to compete. The development she's made during her time here at Gonzaga is amazing. It's a testament to the Sophie, our team and the way they've pushed her to do what she's done."
 
Whittle and the rest of the Bulldogs will return to the court for the ITA Northwest Regionals, Oct. 19-23 in Palo Alto, Calif.