BERKELEY, Calif. – The Gonzaga women's tennis team competed Friday on the opening day of the ITA Northwest Regional Championships, producing a 2-1 record in doubles matches and an impressive 7-1 showing in singles competition.
Norhan Hesham/Brooke Bittner paired up to take down a UC Davis duo 8-2, while Emily Robertson/Ella Nielsen outlasted Seattle 8-6. Rose Hayes/Safien Boulonois fell 8-2 to UW.
Three out of the four Bulldogs competing today in singles qualifying won both of their matches to advance to the main bracket. The other, Ella Nielsen, won her first match in straight sets before dropping the second match.
Brooke Bittner was perfect against Seattle 6-0, 6-0 then beat Saint Mary's 7-5, 6-2. Rose Hayes and Safien Boulonois had similar paths to qualifying, with both easily winning their first match before enduring a three-set battle in the next one. Hayes defeated EWU and SJSU, while Boulonois won over Stanford and Portland.
Up next: Competition continues through Oct. 15 at the ITA Northwest Regional Championships, hosted by the University of California at the Hellman Tennis Complex and Channing Tennis Courts in Berkeley, CA. This is one of 13 regional competitions ITA will hold around the U.S. during October, with singles finalists and doubles champions from each region qualifying for next month's NCAA Singles Championship and NCAA Doubles Championship in Waco, Texas.
The singles main draw begins tomorrow; Norhan Hesham and Emily Robertson compete for the Bulldogs along with Hayes, Bittner, and Boulonois, who qualified with their wins today.
Results:
Doubles:
R64 (Main): Norhan Hesham/Brooke Bittner def. Sophia Sappa/Penelope Wong (UC Davis) 8-2
R64 (Main): Zehra Suko/Catherine Gagnon (UW) def. Rose Hayes/Safien Boulonois 8-2
R64 (Main): Emily Robertson/Ella Nielsen def. Liliya Dimova/Natalia Michta (Seattle) 8-6
Singles:
R64 (Qualifying): Ella Nielsen def. Nahreen Cheam (Pacific) 6-2, 6-3
R32 (Qualifying): Isabella Bringas (UC Davis) def. Ella Nielsen 7-5, 6-2
R64 (Qualifying): Rose Hayes def. Sara Vasic (EWU) 6-1, 6-2
R32 (Qualifying): Rose Hayes def. Nahjime Dho (SJSU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
R64 (Qualifying): Brooke Bittner def. Mina Yazadzhiev (Seattle) 6-0, 6-0
R32 (Qualifying): Brooke Bittner def. TianYu Dong (Saint Mary's) 7-5, 6-2
R64 (Qualifying): Safien Boulonois def. Morgan Shaffer (Stanford) 6-1, 6-3
R32 (Qualifying): Safien Boulonois def. Aleksandra Dimitrijevic 2-6, 6-0, 6-4
