Occhipinti serves dramatic win

Friday, January 18

Phoenix, Ariz.

3 P.M.

Grand Canyon

Drake

1/18/2019 8:10:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

4-3 victory kicks off 5-match homestand

By: Jerob Moon

The Grand Canyon women's tennis team could not have asked for a better start to the 2019 home schedule, getting a dramatic 4-3 win in the home opener against Drake.

The dual match came down to the final set of the final match, which was at the top position with GCU junior Emilia Occhipinti edging her opponent in a third-set tiebreaker to clinch the Lopes' first win of 2019.

"We couldn't have asked for a better start with our home opener for the women's team today," Lopes head coach Greg Prudhomme said. "We had just about everything wrapped up in one match. The girls played really mature as if it was much later in the season. Really proud of their effort and fight."

GCU found themselves down early in the match after losing the doubles point to Drake. Occhipinti and Celina Buhr were blanked 6-0, and Martina Lo Pumo and Ludovica Infantino lost 6-1 at the No. 2 position. But the bright spot was at No. 3 with Autum Prudhomme and Celia Morel winning 6-1, a victory that would give them momentum later in singles.

In singles, the Lopes and Bulldogs were neck and neck most of the day, with only one match finishing in straight sets. That 6-4, 6-2 win by Buhr at No. 3 proved to be crucial to give the rest of the team the momentum it needed. After losing the first set, Morel, Infantino, and Lo Pumo flipped the script and won each of their second sets to push their matches to a third set. Occhipinti and Prudhomme, at Nos. 1 and 6, respectively, each lost the second set and headed to a deciding third set as well.

Morel was the second match to finish. She would go on to drop only one game in the final two sets, winning 2-6, 6-0, 6-1, in dominating fashion for her first singles win as a Lope. Prudhomme finished off Drake's Megan Webb, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, to give the Lopes a 3-1 lead with three matches to play.

The Bulldogs, however, would not roll over easily, defeating Infantino and Lo Pumo at No. 5 and No. 2 in three sets and knotting the team match score at 3-3 to make the No. 1 position the winner-take-all finale.

Occhipinti, at No. 1, forced tiebreakers in the third set and fought off a match point when she was down 6-5. She would then go on to win the final three points to clinch the match victory for the Lopes with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6) win, capping off a hard-fought three-hour match.

"It was a fantastic team effort, people were fighting all the way down the lineup," Prudhomme added. "I can't say enough about the mental toughness that they showed, the team spirit, the fight. We were happy to see the fans. We appreciate the people that were there providing a good atmosphere, it definitely helped us get through a close one."

The team will be back on the home courts next Friday at 3 p.m. against Southern Utah.