Friday, April 26
Claremont, CA
10:00 AM
Gonzaga University
4
vs
3
(2) San Diego
Photo by: Kyle Terada
Women’s Tennis Advances to WCC Final with Comeback Win
4/26/2019 2:24:00 PM | Women's Tennis
GU was down 3-0 and to the final point, but fought all the way back
CLAREMONT, Calif. — Gonzaga women's tennis was down 3-0 and had to defeat two match points before storming back for a 4-3 win over second-seeded San Diego in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Championships on Friday.
Gonzaga freshman Vlada Medvedcova was on Court 5 facing two match points with her team on the brink of elimination, but she held on and her teammates collected the victories needed to set up the final point. From there, Medvedcova controlled the final set and helped GU defeat San Diego (17-4) to advance to the finals where the Zags will face top-seeded and sixth-ranked Pepperdine for the automatic qualifying berth to the NCAA Tournament.
"It was such a team win today, and I felt that our strength was our ability to compete for each other," head coach D.J. Gurule said. "Sophie [Whittle] played an amazing match, and Grace [Rosas] was solid at No. 2. But, for Haruna [Tsuruta] and Vlada [Medvedcova] to battle in their third sets knowing our season was on the line was something truly special. San Diego is a really good team, well-coached and fierce competitors. Next up is one of the best teams in the country in Pepperdine, but we'll be ready."
Gonzaga dropped the doubles point after San Diego sandwiched wins on Nos. 2 and 3 around a Zag win. GU's 23rd-ranked duo of Sophie Whittle and Graciela Rosas earned a victory on No. 1, 6-1.
In singles, the Zags' day started slow and was nearly over before GU got on the board. After San Diego took the first two matches to finish on Nos. 3 and 6, the Toreros had double match-point on No. 5 before Medvedcova preserved the match for Gonzaga
Seniors Whittle and Rosas each finished off a straight-set victory to get GU its first two points. Rosas claimed a 6-4, 6-4 win first on No. 2, and the 10th-ranked Whittle followed shortly after with a 6-3, 6-4 win on No. 1 over No. 58-ranked Solymar Colling. That pulled Gonzaga to within 3-2.
Haruna Tsuruta dominated her third set to even the match at 3-3. She won 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 to set up Medvedcova on No. 5 as the deciding match. In the final set, Medvedcova got an early break-point and then held serve the rest of the way to win 0-6, 7-6(1), 6-4.
Gonzaga will take on top-seeded Pepperdine in the finals on Saturday at 10 a.m. Links to live coverage will be available at GoZags.com.
Gonzaga freshman Vlada Medvedcova was on Court 5 facing two match points with her team on the brink of elimination, but she held on and her teammates collected the victories needed to set up the final point. From there, Medvedcova controlled the final set and helped GU defeat San Diego (17-4) to advance to the finals where the Zags will face top-seeded and sixth-ranked Pepperdine for the automatic qualifying berth to the NCAA Tournament.
"It was such a team win today, and I felt that our strength was our ability to compete for each other," head coach D.J. Gurule said. "Sophie [Whittle] played an amazing match, and Grace [Rosas] was solid at No. 2. But, for Haruna [Tsuruta] and Vlada [Medvedcova] to battle in their third sets knowing our season was on the line was something truly special. San Diego is a really good team, well-coached and fierce competitors. Next up is one of the best teams in the country in Pepperdine, but we'll be ready."
Gonzaga dropped the doubles point after San Diego sandwiched wins on Nos. 2 and 3 around a Zag win. GU's 23rd-ranked duo of Sophie Whittle and Graciela Rosas earned a victory on No. 1, 6-1.
In singles, the Zags' day started slow and was nearly over before GU got on the board. After San Diego took the first two matches to finish on Nos. 3 and 6, the Toreros had double match-point on No. 5 before Medvedcova preserved the match for Gonzaga
Seniors Whittle and Rosas each finished off a straight-set victory to get GU its first two points. Rosas claimed a 6-4, 6-4 win first on No. 2, and the 10th-ranked Whittle followed shortly after with a 6-3, 6-4 win on No. 1 over No. 58-ranked Solymar Colling. That pulled Gonzaga to within 3-2.
Haruna Tsuruta dominated her third set to even the match at 3-3. She won 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 to set up Medvedcova on No. 5 as the deciding match. In the final set, Medvedcova got an early break-point and then held serve the rest of the way to win 0-6, 7-6(1), 6-4.
Gonzaga will take on top-seeded Pepperdine in the finals on Saturday at 10 a.m. Links to live coverage will be available at GoZags.com.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
1
6
TORRES, Maria-Paula/ COLLING, Solymar (77/-) [USD]
1
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
12
66
COLLING, Solymar / 0 (58/-) [USD]
34
#2 Singles Match
12
66
GARCIA, Gemma / 0 [USD]
44
#3 Singles Match
12
45
MORALES, Daniela / 0 [USD]
67
#4 Singles Match
123
076
KUKARAS, Kati / 0 [USD]
664
#5 Singles Match
123
626
TORRES, Maria-Paula / 0 [USD]
262
#6 Singles Match
12
24
TYRINA, Maria / 0 [USD]
66
Order of Finish:
6,3,2,1,5,4
Tuesday, June 30
Monday, June 29
Monday, June 29
Friday, June 26
