SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Gonzaga women's tennis team began their participation in the Gonzaga Invite earlier today. The Zags finished with an impressive record of 13-3 across all completed matches today.
The Zags opened the day by earning four impressive victories in the Gold Doubles bracket. In the Round of 16, Gonzaga's Emily Robertson and Kianna Oda defeated Idaho's Valentina Rodas and Naomi Schrader by a score of 7-6. Shortly after, Gonzaga's Tiegan Aitken and Ella Nielsen clinched a 6-4 victory in the Round of 16 against Montana's Shivika Agrawal and Ivayla Mitkova.
In the Quarterfinals of the Gold Doubles bracket, Robertson and Oda advanced by defeating Seattle's Elena Kraleva and Anastasia-Aleksandra Nikolova by a score of 6-0. Aitken and Nielsen also claimed a 6-2 win over Idaho's Rachelle Starreveld and Diana Khaydarshina to advance to the Gold Doubles Semifinals.
In the Blue Doubles bracket, the Zags also saw a pair advance to the Blue Doubles Semifinals. In the Round of 16, Gonzaga's Rose Hayes and Lia Espinal earned a 6-3 win against Montana State's Hudson Hawkins and Angel Bean. In the Quarterfinals, Hayes and Espinal advanced after defeating Eastern Washington's Jennifer Kida and Anait Arutiunian by a score of 6-3.
Gonzaga's Caroline Wernli and Savannah Johnson also performed in the Blue Doubles bracket, earning a victory in the Round of 16 after Portland State's Makoto Ohara and Rosie Sterk withdrew due to injury. In the Quarterfinals round, Wernli and Johnson battled, but lost to Portland's Kylie Canubida and Iye Onoja by a score of 7-6.
Moving to the singles competition, two Zags performed in the Round of 16 of the Gold Singles bracket. Facing Eastern Washington's Scout Matthews, Robertson shined, earning an impressive 6-0, 6-3 victory in straight sets. Oda also advanced to the Quarterfinals, earning a 4-6, 6-3, 10-4 victory over Montana State's Paula Dougherty in comeback fashion.
Hayes and Nielsen also performed in the Blue Singles bracket, with both advancing to the Quarterfinals round. In her Round of 16 match, Hayes excelled, earning a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory against Idaho's Valetina Rodas. Later on, Nielsen clinched a 7-5, 4-6, 10-7 win over Idaho's Lena Beckx.
The Zags concluded today's action with four more competitive singles matches. Wernli earned an impressive 6-3, 7-6 win against Washington State's Martina Markov to advance to the Red Singles Quarterfinals. Aitken also battled, but lost her Round of 16 match against Washington State's Hania Abouelsaad by a score of 7-5, 7-5. Facing Portland's Iye Onoja, Johnson lost 6-0, 6-2 in the her Round of 16 match of the White Singles bracket. In the final match of the day for the Zags, Espinal dominated, winning her Round of 16 match 6-0, 6-1 against Seattle's Shaunghui Huang.
Up next:
The Zags will continue their performance in the Gonzaga Invite tomorrow, as Robertson and Oda will face Washington State's Elyse Tse and Eva Alvarez Sande, and Aitken and Nielsen will face Washington State's Momoko Yoshimura and Scarlett Perkins in the Gold Doubles bracket. Later in the morning, Hayes and Espinal will play Seattle's Lola Tavcar and Lamija Avdic in the Blue Doubles bracket.
In the afternoon, the Zags will also compete in the singles competition. Oda will face Portland's Rimona Rouf, and Robertson will play Maria Garcia Reboredo, in the Gold Singles Quarterfinals tomorrow. Later on, in the Blue Singles Quarterfinals, Hayes will face Portland's Aleksandra Dimitrijevic and Nielsen will play Seattle's Yuna Kadowaki.
Wernli will play Idaho's Rachelle Starreveld tomorrow afternoon in the Red Singles Quarterfinals, and Espinal will perform in the White Singles Quarterfinals. Two Zags will also perform in the consolation singles matches, with Aitken taking on Idaho's Naomi Schraeder in the Red Singles Consolation Quarterfinals and Johnson will face Montana State's Felicia Jayasputra.
Visit GoZags.com, and follow the @ZagWTennis account on social media, to stay up-to-date with Gonzaga women's tennis.
