Completed Event: Women's Tennis at Northern Arizona on March 20, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 7
W Tennis
at Northern Arizona
L 0-7
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, February 15
Logan, Utah
11 A.M.
Grand Canyon
2
at
5
Utah State
GCU falls to Utah State 5-2
2/15/2019 3:34:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Lopes win a pair of singles matches
LOGAN, Utah—The Grand Canyon women's tennis team fell 5-2 at Utah State on Friday.
The Lopes answered an early 3-0 deficit with two singles wins to cut the lead to 3-2 but the Aggies won the final two matches of the day.
"It's always tough playing Utah State in their indoor facility," GCU head coach Greg Prudhomme said. "We've lost to them in the past here in close matches, always good battles, and I feel like those matches always help our girls get to another level of their competitiveness and it toughens them up moving forward in the season. I feel like the exact same thing happened today."
Starting in doubles, Utah State won the point with a 6-3 win at No. 3 and a 6-2 win at No. 2. Emilia Occhipinti and Celina Buhr's match at No. 1 was left unfinished with the score tied at 4-4.
Heading into singles, the Lopes fell behind early by dropping the first two matches. Occhipinti lost in straight sets at No. 1 and Lo Pumo lost 7-5, 6-2, as the Aggies took a 3-0 lead.
But the Lopes battled back, winning back-to-back three-set matches. At No. 4, Buhr came back after dropping the first set winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Celia Morel at No. 3 won her match in a third-set tiebreaker and trimmed the Utah State lead to 3-2.
With only four indoor courts, the Nos. 5 and 6 singles matches had to wait until two matches ended before they could take the courts. Utah State took the team win, winning at No. 6 in straight sets and at No. 5 in three sets.
"Good fights," Prudhomme said. "If they keep doing this, we're going to start winning those close ones, whether it's on the road or at home. We already know we can win the close ones with the way the season started. But we're playing some tough teams and they're showing signs of going in the right direction. So if they just keep this up combined with getting back to the practice courts and working hard at things that need improvement, we'll be in good shape moving forward."
The Lopes will travel to Weber State on Saturday to wrap up the road trip.
The Lopes answered an early 3-0 deficit with two singles wins to cut the lead to 3-2 but the Aggies won the final two matches of the day.
"It's always tough playing Utah State in their indoor facility," GCU head coach Greg Prudhomme said. "We've lost to them in the past here in close matches, always good battles, and I feel like those matches always help our girls get to another level of their competitiveness and it toughens them up moving forward in the season. I feel like the exact same thing happened today."
Starting in doubles, Utah State won the point with a 6-3 win at No. 3 and a 6-2 win at No. 2. Emilia Occhipinti and Celina Buhr's match at No. 1 was left unfinished with the score tied at 4-4.
Heading into singles, the Lopes fell behind early by dropping the first two matches. Occhipinti lost in straight sets at No. 1 and Lo Pumo lost 7-5, 6-2, as the Aggies took a 3-0 lead.
But the Lopes battled back, winning back-to-back three-set matches. At No. 4, Buhr came back after dropping the first set winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Celia Morel at No. 3 won her match in a third-set tiebreaker and trimmed the Utah State lead to 3-2.
With only four indoor courts, the Nos. 5 and 6 singles matches had to wait until two matches ended before they could take the courts. Utah State took the team win, winning at No. 6 in straight sets and at No. 5 in three sets.
"Good fights," Prudhomme said. "If they keep doing this, we're going to start winning those close ones, whether it's on the road or at home. We already know we can win the close ones with the way the season started. But we're playing some tough teams and they're showing signs of going in the right direction. So if they just keep this up combined with getting back to the practice courts and working hard at things that need improvement, we'll be in good shape moving forward."
The Lopes will travel to Weber State on Saturday to wrap up the road trip.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
#1 Singles Match
12
42
Alexandra Pisareva / 0 [USU]
66
#2 Singles Match
12
52
Hannah Jones / 0 [USU]
76
#3 Singles Match
123
637
Lucy Octave / 0 [USU]
266
#4 Singles Match
123
366
Gabrielle Dekkers / 0 [USU]
634
#5 Singles Match
123
610
Rhoda Tanui / 0 [USU]
361
#6 Singles Match
12
12
Sidnee Lavatai / 0 [USU]
66
Order of Finish:
1,2,4,3,6,5
Players Mentioned
Women's Wins the WAC Title
Monday, April 21