Boise State downs Gonzaga 5-2 to close homestand

Sunday, March 20

Boise, Idaho

11 a.m. MT

Boise State

Gonzaga

3/20/2022 4:39:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Courtesy: Boise State Athletics

BOISE, Idaho – Holly Stewart recorded the match-clinching singles victory on Sunday as Boise State earned its fourth-consecutive victory with a 5-2 win over Gonzaga in Boise. With the match score tied at one set apiece and Stewart trailing 5-2 in the third, the junior from New Zealand rallied with five-straight wins to take her No. 3 singles contest 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 over Adrianna Sosnowska, earning her team-high 15th singles victory of the season.

"I think our players, these young women, are coming out to play and taking on these opportunities," said Boise State Interim Head Coach Maria Lopez. "They're competing with a lot of heart, and I think today was a pretty good example of that. We played solid through two and a half to three hours of tennis, and at no point were any of us going to let down, even though a few matches didn't go our way today. But you know, this is the part you grow from and learn a lot. It was a good win heading into conference play next weekend."

Coach Lopez was not surprised by Stewart's win, "Stewart was a couple of match points down, then came back and won the match to clinch it for us. It just speaks a lot about her character. I'm not surprised at all by her performance. We see how much she puts in and how much effort she makes at practice every week. We've been talking to them a lot about believing in themselves and having all the right things they're going to need in those moments to close matches. Today was a pretty good example of how she (Stewart) could do that."

Opening up the doubles competition, Boise State's Joana Baptista and Nicole Discenza earned a 6-3 court one victory over Gonzaga's Cate Broerman and Sosnowska. The Broncos clinched the doubles point when Shauna Heffernan and Stewart defeated Frederikke Svarre and Jenna Sloan 6-3 on court two. The wins were the sixth of the season for both Boise State tandems.

Boise State stretched its lead early during the singles competition when Bhakti Shah defeated Gonzaga's Caroline Wernli 6-3, 6-1 on court six to earn her 13th win.

The Bronco advantage increased to 3-0 following Baptista's straight-set victory over Sloan 6-4, 7-5 at No. 2 singles, claiming her 14th win this season and setting up Stewart to clinch the team victory at 4-0.

In the final three singles matches of the day, Gonzaga earned tiebreaker wins at the No. 5 and 1 positions, respectively, while Ana Conde Vendrell brought home a win on court four by 6-0, 2-6, 6-4 scores.

Sunday's win over Gonzaga wrapped up a four-match homestand for the Blue and Orange as they improved to 4-1 overall. The Broncos will now hit the road to start Mountain West Conference play next weekend at San Diego, Calif., where they will face both San Diego State and UNLV.

MATCH BOX SCORE
Boise State (4-1) def. Gonzaga (6-7) 5-2
March 20, 2022, at Boise, Idaho (Boas Indoor Tennis Center)

Doubles (Order of finish: 1,2)
1. Baptista/Discenza (BSU) def. Broerman/Sosnowska (GON) 6-3
2. Shauna Heffernan/Stewart (BSU) def. Frederikke Svarre/Sloan (GON) 6-3
3. Conde Vendrell/Ernstberger (BSU) v. Aitken/Oda (GON) 5-3 DNF

Singles (Order of finish: 6,2,3,5,4,1)
1. Cate Broerman (GON) def. Pauline Ernstberger (BSU) 4-6, 7-6, 1-0
2. Joana Baptista (BSU) def. Jenna Sloan (GON) 6-4, 7-5
3. Holly Stewart (BSU) def. Adrianna Sosnowska (GON) 6-1, 4-6, 7-5
4. Ana Conde Vendrell (BSU) def. Kianna Oda (GON) 6-0, 2-6, 6-4
5. Tiegan Aitken (GON) def. Nicole Discenza (BSU) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6
6. Bhatki Shah (BSU) def. Caroline Wernli (GON) 6-3, 6-1