GCU Men Pick Up "Biggest" Win in Program History; Women Sweep Art

Friday, February 10

Glendale, AZ

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

UC San Diego

Majan improved to 4-0 in singles.

GCU Men Pick Up "Biggest" Win in Program History; Women Sweep Art

2/10/2012 10:10:00 PM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis

The Grand Canyon University tennis teams continued their winning ways today at the Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale, Ariz.

The No. 21 GCU men’s team powered their way past No. 10 UC San Diego, 7-2. The win improved their overall record to 4-1 and also snapped UC San Diego’s 24-match regular season winning streak.

GCU entered the match ranked No. 2 in the West Region, with UCSD entering as the region's No. 1.

“The easiest way to sum up our match with UCSD is that it is the biggest win in our men’s programs history up to this point,” said head coach Greg Prudhomme. “The guys worked so well together and fought so hard to get the three doubles wins. In particular, Ahmad Saleem and Bastien Tonus weathered a tough match and won a dominating tiebreaker. Patrice Giraldi and Frederic Schoelzel did a great job closing out the final two points in singles to get the team win. The guys were really determined to get this win. The match ended at 11 p.m. - they were prepared to stay as long as it took to get the win. “

The Antelopes jumped out quickly, winning all three doubles matches. Frederic Schoelzel and Stephane Murray cruised to an 8-2 victory over Austin West and Devon Sousa in the top doubles match. West/Sousa are currently ranked No. 18 in the nation and No. 1 in the region. Ahmad Saleem and Bastien Tonus improved to 4-1 in doubles play this season, eking out a 9-8 win at the No. 3 doubles spot.

GCU took four of the six matches in singles play to close out the win. Saleem and Tonus used match tiebreaks to secure their wins. Saleem rallied from a set down to take his third set match tiebreak, 10-7. After winning the first set and dropping the second, Tonus won his third straight match by defeating Guy Giubilato 10-8 in the tiebreak.

The men return to action this afternoon at the Paseo Racquet Center with a match against MSU Billings at 3 p.m.

GCU 7 UCSD 2 (full results)

The women, ranked No.14 in the nation and No.3 in the West Region, won their third straight match with a 9-0 win over Academy of Art this afternoon. The win improves their overall record to 3-1.

“The women's team keeps impressing me,” said Prudhomme. “I know they are a strong team but they seem to be getting even better by the match. Arts brought in what looked like one of their best teams since there program's beginning so for us to win with a 9-0 score exceeded my expectation. Our chemistry in the doubles teams and with the team overall is getting very strong.”

Justine Majan improved her singles record to a perfect 4-0, with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Jenny Johansson in the No. 4 match.

No. 25 Katharina Mittag, Priscilla Annoual, Frederique Van de Velde and Cecilia Vergnet all won their third straight match.

Franziska Schmid rebounded to re-enter the win column with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 5 singles.

GCU swept the doubles play and improved their team record to 9-3 for the season.

The women will now face a critical match with No. 17 UCSD today at noon at the Paseo Racquet Center. The Antelopes enter the match No. 3 in the West Region, while the Tritons sit No. 4. Three teams from the women’s region can qualify for postseason play.

GCU 9 AAU 0 (full results)