TAMPA, Florida – Gonzaga women's tennis was defeated 4-1 by Liberty on Tuesday at the University of South Florida's Varsity Tennis Courts.

Emily Robertson/Ella Nielsen won their fourth straight doubles match, improving to 5-1 when paired up this season. The duo won 6-4, while Norhan Hesham/Safien Boulonois were dropped 6-3. Attention turned to court two, where the Flames outlasted Rose Hayes/Lia Espinal 7-6 (6) in a back-and-forth tiebreaker to claim the doubles point.

As the dual moved to singles, Hayes fell 6-1, 6-1. The Bulldogs notched a point as Boulonois cruised to a 6-1, 6-4 victory. Liberty, however, bounced back, defeating Ella Nielsen (6-4, 6-2) and Brooke Bittner (7-5, 5-2) to clinch the overall match.

When the dual ended, two singles bouts were stopped with Hesham leading 6-2, 3-6, 4-2 and Robertson trailing 5-7, 5-6.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs' spring break in Tampa, Florida continues tomorrow with a dual against South Florida (March 12). GU opens WCC play with a home dual against Washington State (March 22). For those unable to attend, live video will be available at GoZags.com.

MATCH NOTES
- GU women's tennis is now 7-5 this dual season, with wins over Michigan State, Eastern Washington, New Mexico State, New Mexico, Air Force, Montana, and Seattle.
- The Bulldogs, who opened the season 5-1, are 5-1 at Stevens Center, with the lone defeat coming to Washington on Feb. 9.
- Gonzaga was coming off its first two 4-0 victories of the season, beating Montana (Feb. 28) and Seattle (March 2) at home.
- The Zags are now 0-2 in neutral site matches, having lost to Grand Canyon by the same score on Feb. 22. 
- Liberty is now 6-9 on the season and 2-1 in neutral matches.
- The Flames fell 4-3 on March 9 to South Florida, who GU plays tomorrow.

3/11 Dual Results:
Liberty 4, Gonzaga 1

Doubles
1. Emily Robertson/Ella Nielsen def. Daniella O'Neill/Maria Turchetto (LIB), 6-4
2. Yoanna Radulova/Anika Lemus (LIB) def. Rose Hayes/Lia Espinal, 7-6 (6)
3. Yu-Yun Chen/Celina Joseph (LIB) def. Norhan Hesham/Safien Boulonois, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2

Singles
1. Emily Robertson vs. Yoanna Radulova (LIB), 5-7, 5-6 (unfinished)
2. Norhan Hesham vs. Daniella O'Neill (LIB), 6-2, 3-6, 4-2 (unfinished)
3. Yu-Yun Chen (LIB) def. Rose Hayes, 6-1, 6-1
4. Maria Turchetto (LIB) def. Ella Nielsen, 6-4, 6-2
5. Anika Lemus (LIB) def. Brooke Bittner, 7-5, 6-2
6. Safien Boulonois def. Celina Joseph (LIB), 6-1, 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 6, 4, 5