Completed Event: Women's Tennis versus W15 Lincoln on November 3, 2025 ,
W Tennis
vs W15 Lincoln
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Sunday, February 28
Des Moines, Iowa
9 a.m.
Grand Canyon
3
at
4
Drake
Drake edges GCU 4-3 in Iowa
2/28/2021 4:46:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Occhipinti sets program's DI-era singles record in loss
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Grand Canyon women's tennis team wrapped up the weekend road trip with a close 4-3 loss to Drake on Sunday.
The difference in the match was the doubles point that Drake won before GCU split the six singles matches.
In doubles, the Lopes fell behind quickly with No. 1 pair Natasha Puehse and Jana Weiss losing 6-0 to Drake's Liza Petushkova and Maria Tatarnikova. The Bulldogs took the point with another quick win, 6-1, at No. 3 over GCU's Taylor Andersen and Joely Lomas. The Lopes' No. 2 pair Emilia Occhipinti's and Autum Prudhomme had their match left unfinished at 3-3.
In singles, Occhipinti was up 4-1 in her first set when her opponent, Daria Walczak, retired. That forfeit gave the senior from Italy her 44th career singles win, which pushes her past Tatum Prudhomme for the most singles wins in the GCU Division I era.
The Bulldogs control the next three matches with straight-set wins to clinch the dual-match win.
Near the end of the match, Andersen and Weiss won their single matches that included tiebreakers in their second sets. Andersen picked up her second win of the weekend, winning 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) over Kelsey Neville at No. 6, while Weiss won 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) at No. 3 over Tatarnikova. Those wins narrowed the final score to 4-3.
The Lopes will be back on the road next week, traveling to BYU on March 5.
The difference in the match was the doubles point that Drake won before GCU split the six singles matches.
In doubles, the Lopes fell behind quickly with No. 1 pair Natasha Puehse and Jana Weiss losing 6-0 to Drake's Liza Petushkova and Maria Tatarnikova. The Bulldogs took the point with another quick win, 6-1, at No. 3 over GCU's Taylor Andersen and Joely Lomas. The Lopes' No. 2 pair Emilia Occhipinti's and Autum Prudhomme had their match left unfinished at 3-3.
In singles, Occhipinti was up 4-1 in her first set when her opponent, Daria Walczak, retired. That forfeit gave the senior from Italy her 44th career singles win, which pushes her past Tatum Prudhomme for the most singles wins in the GCU Division I era.
The Bulldogs control the next three matches with straight-set wins to clinch the dual-match win.
Near the end of the match, Andersen and Weiss won their single matches that included tiebreakers in their second sets. Andersen picked up her second win of the weekend, winning 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) over Kelsey Neville at No. 6, while Weiss won 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) at No. 3 over Tatarnikova. Those wins narrowed the final score to 4-3.
The Lopes will be back on the road next week, traveling to BYU on March 5.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3
#1 Singles Match
12
33
Liza Petushkova / 0 [DU_W]
66
#2 Singles Match
12
4WR
Daria Walczak / 0 [DU_W]
10
#3 Singles Match
12
77
Maria Tatarnikova / 0 [DU_W]
56
#4 Singles Match
12
21
Ines Stephani / 0 [DU_W]
66
#5 Singles Match
12
35
Darinka Stepan / 0 [DU_W]
67
#6 Singles Match
12
67
Kelsey Neville / 0 [DU_W]
36
Order of Finish:
2,4,1,5,6,3
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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