SPOKANE, Wash. – In Gonzaga's final home dual of the regular season, women's tennis stormed back from a 0-2 deficit to defeat Santa Clara 4-2 — advancing to next week's WCC Tournament, the team's first postseason appearance since 2018-19.

The Broncos (8-11 overall, 2-3 WCC) notched Friday's doubles point at the Stevens Center by withstanding Rose Hayes/Lia Espinal (6-1) and Emily Robertson/Ella Nielsen (6-3). Norhan Hesham/Safien Boulonois were tied at four when the teams moved to singles.

Santa Clara tallied another point with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Espinal, however, that ended the day's scoring for the visitors. Hesham (6-3, 6-3) and Hayes (6-3, 6-4) cruised in straight sets to knot the dual 2-2.

The remaining singles bouts all went to a third frame, with Robertson (6-4, 4-6, 6-1) and Boulonois (2-6, 6-3, 7-5) outlasting their opponents to clinch the overall match for Gonzaga. Nielsen fought back to force a final set — just as Boulonois had — and was trailing 4-5 when the dual ended.

UP NEXT: Gonzaga women's tennis closes out the WCC regular season with a road dual against Portland tomorrow (April 19). The Zags will then compete in the WCC Tournament, held at San Diego State's Aztec Tennis Center from April 24-26.

MATCH NOTES
- Before the match, Gonzaga recognized Lia Espinal and Norhan Hesham for Senior Day. 
- With the win, the Zags (3-2 WCC) clinched a spot in next week's WCC Tournament — held at San Diego State's Aztec Tennis Center from April 24-26 — and knocked the Broncos (2-3) out of postseason contention.
- This will be the Bulldogs' first appearance in the WCC Tournament since 2018-19, when they advanced as a 3-seed to the championship dual against top-seeded Pepperdine. Gonzaga's 5-2 conference record in 2020-21 would have qualified for the postseason, however, the WCC Tournament was canceled due to logistics surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
- GU women's tennis is now 11-8 overall and 3-2 in WCC play this dual season, with other wins over Michigan State, Eastern Washington, New Mexico State, New Mexico, Air Force, Montana, Seattle, Saint Mary's, Pacific, and Portland State.
- Santa Clara is now 8-11 overall and 2-3 in WCC play.

DOUBLES NOTES
- The Zags are 25-19 overall in doubles matches.
- Emily Robertson's 11-5 doubles record leads the Bulldogs, followed by Safien Boulonois (9-4), Norhan Hesham (9-5), and Ella Nielsen (8-6).
- Robertson/Nielsen were No. 88 in the April 1 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings after beating then-No. 41 Eva Alvarez/Maxine Murphy from Washington State on March 22.
- Robertson/Nielsen dropped out of the April 8 rankings after falling to Loyola Marymount's Anastasia Bozova/Stefania Rogozinska-Dzik, who have been ranked all season and entered that match at No. 49.

SINGLES NOTES
- Emily Robertson (9-6) and Norhan Hesham (9-8) lead the Zags in singles wins. 
- The Bulldogs are 39-49 overall in singles matches.

4/18 Dual Results:
Gonzaga 4, Santa Clara 2

Doubles
1. Jillian Roa/Tian Yu Dong (SCU) def. Emily Robertson/Ella Nielsen, 6-3
2. Daniella Dimitrova/Anna Rahman (SCU) def. Rose Hayes/Lia Espinal, 6-1
3. Norhan Hesham/Safien Boulonois vs. Kacey Feng/Velizara Fileva (SCU), 4-4 (unfinished)
Order of Finish: 2, 1

Singles
1. Emily Robertson def. Daniella Dimitrova (SCU), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
2. Norhan Hesham def. Velizara Fileva (SCU), 6-3, 6-3
3. Ella Nielsen vs. Tian Yu Dong (SCU), 2-6, 6-4, 4-5 (unfinished)
4. Safien Boulonois def. Jillian Roa (SCU), 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
5. Rose Hayes def. Anna Rahman (SCU), 6-3, 6-4
6. Juliette Krumholz (SCU) def. Lia Espinal, 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 5, 1, 4