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
Sunday, April 18
Las Cruces, N.M.
8 a.m.
Grand Canyon
7
at
0
New Mexico State
Lopes repeat as WAC regular-season champs
4/18/2021 1:59:00 PM | Women's Tennis
GCU wins 4th WAC title in last 7 seasons
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The Grand Canyon women's tennis team won its second straight WAC regular-season title on Sunday with a 7-0 sweep over New Mexico State.
It is the fourth WAC regular-season championship for the Lopes (10-7, 6-0 WAC) in the past seven seasons and the third time that the team finished unbeaten in conference play. The regular-season title also completes a midseason turnaround that saw the 1-7 Lopes win their final nine matches in a row to claim the crown.
It was the fourth straight 7-0 sweep in conference play and the fifth time in six conference matches that the Lopes have won all seven points. On Sunday, GCU took all three doubles and all six singles matches at New Mexico State (5-13, 4-2 WAC).
In doubles, the Lopes started the match with a 6-0 sweep by freshman Taylor Andersen and senior Joely Lomas at No. 3 followed by a 6-1 win by senior duo Emilia Occhipinti and Autum Prudhomme to clinch the doubles point quickly. Both doubles pairs finish with a perfect record in conference play while Occhipinti and Prudhomme won their 10th match in a row. Sophomore Natasha Puehse and junior Jana Weiss won 6-4 at No. 1 as the the Lopes headed to singles with a 1-0 lead.
The 1-0 lead quickly turned to a 2-0 lead in singles as Andersen was perfect at No. 6, winning 6-0, 6-0, to cap off a 5-0 performance in WAC play. Andersen's win was followed quickly by Weiss at No. 3 with a 6-1, 6-0 win. The junior from Austria extended her winning streak to nine and finished conference play with a 6-0 record.
The dual-match win and regular-season title was poetically clinched by Occhipinti, the senior captain, at No. 2. Occhipinti, a senior last season, used her extra year of eligibility to return to GCU for a fifth year and capped off her 10th win in a row with a 6-2, 6-3 win over the Aggies' Chloe Gavino.
Leading 4-0, the Lopes prevailed in the final three singles matches, all coming in three sets. Prudhomme, at No. 5, won her first set but fell in the second set, 6-0, before regrouping in the 10-point tiebreaker to win 10-5. Meanwhile, at Court 4, Lomas dropped a 6-4 second set after winning the first but bounced back to win her third-set tiebreaker 10-7.
At the top court, Puehse went from being a regular first finisher for the Lopes in singles to the last player standing on the courts, facing a tough match against NMSU's Harsha Challa. Puehse easily won the first set 6-1 but fell in a tightly contested 7-6 (7-5) second set that forced a third-set, 10-point tiebreaker. The sophomore from Scottsdale, Arizona, prevailed 10-8 to give the Lopes a 7-0 sweep.
The Lopes will wrap up the regular season at Northern Arizona on Friday.
It is the fourth WAC regular-season championship for the Lopes (10-7, 6-0 WAC) in the past seven seasons and the third time that the team finished unbeaten in conference play. The regular-season title also completes a midseason turnaround that saw the 1-7 Lopes win their final nine matches in a row to claim the crown.
It was the fourth straight 7-0 sweep in conference play and the fifth time in six conference matches that the Lopes have won all seven points. On Sunday, GCU took all three doubles and all six singles matches at New Mexico State (5-13, 4-2 WAC).
In doubles, the Lopes started the match with a 6-0 sweep by freshman Taylor Andersen and senior Joely Lomas at No. 3 followed by a 6-1 win by senior duo Emilia Occhipinti and Autum Prudhomme to clinch the doubles point quickly. Both doubles pairs finish with a perfect record in conference play while Occhipinti and Prudhomme won their 10th match in a row. Sophomore Natasha Puehse and junior Jana Weiss won 6-4 at No. 1 as the the Lopes headed to singles with a 1-0 lead.
The 1-0 lead quickly turned to a 2-0 lead in singles as Andersen was perfect at No. 6, winning 6-0, 6-0, to cap off a 5-0 performance in WAC play. Andersen's win was followed quickly by Weiss at No. 3 with a 6-1, 6-0 win. The junior from Austria extended her winning streak to nine and finished conference play with a 6-0 record.
The dual-match win and regular-season title was poetically clinched by Occhipinti, the senior captain, at No. 2. Occhipinti, a senior last season, used her extra year of eligibility to return to GCU for a fifth year and capped off her 10th win in a row with a 6-2, 6-3 win over the Aggies' Chloe Gavino.
Leading 4-0, the Lopes prevailed in the final three singles matches, all coming in three sets. Prudhomme, at No. 5, won her first set but fell in the second set, 6-0, before regrouping in the 10-point tiebreaker to win 10-5. Meanwhile, at Court 4, Lomas dropped a 6-4 second set after winning the first but bounced back to win her third-set tiebreaker 10-7.
At the top court, Puehse went from being a regular first finisher for the Lopes in singles to the last player standing on the courts, facing a tough match against NMSU's Harsha Challa. Puehse easily won the first set 6-1 but fell in a tightly contested 7-6 (7-5) second set that forced a third-set, 10-point tiebreaker. The sophomore from Scottsdale, Arizona, prevailed 10-8 to give the Lopes a 7-0 sweep.
The Lopes will wrap up the regular season at Northern Arizona on Friday.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
123
661
Harsha Challa / 0 [NMSU]
170
#2 Singles Match
12
66
Chloe Gavino / 0 [NMSU]
23
#3 Singles Match
12
66
Miranda Bishard / 0 [NMSU]
10
#4 Singles Match
123
641
Gavi Kalaga / 0 [NMSU]
360
#5 Singles Match
123
601
Bella Nguyen / 0 [NMSU]
360
#6 Singles Match
12
66
Kayla Fielder / 0 [NMSU]
00
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Women's Wins the WAC Title
Monday, April 21