Completed Event: Women's Tennis versus W15 Lincoln on November 3, 2025 ,
W Tennis
vs W15 Lincoln
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, February 17
San Jose, Calif.
1 p.m.
Grand Canyon
4
at
3
San Jose State
Puehse clutch in 4-3 road win
2/17/2023 5:53:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Lopes outlast Spartans as Puehse wins final singles match
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Grand Canyon women's tennis team delivered in the clutch in a tight 4-3 road win at San Jose State on Friday afternoon.
The Lopes took the doubles point and split the three singles matches and it was senior Natasha Puehse that won the final match of the day a three-set thriller at the No. 1 singles spot.
"I am so proud of this team and their fight from start to finish," head coach Katarina Adamovic said. "This was a team effort. It's never easy to come and play a tough team like San Jose at their home courts but we played with huge heart and for each other. We and stayed focused and mentally tough and we took the win away from them."
The Lopes (2-5) took the crucial doubles point over the Spartans (3-4) with wins at courts one and three. Puehse and junior Santa Strombacha the reigning WAC Doubles Players of the Week, were the first to finish with a 6-2 win at the top court. San Jose State responded with a 6-3 win over freshman Anali Kocevar and graduate student Madeline Lamoreaux.
With the first two doubles matches split the point came down to court three. GCU duo of freshman Dania Deaifi and sophomore Valentina Del Marco pushed their match to a tiebreaker after being tied at 6-6. The tiebreaker was as close as the rest of the match with the GCU pair winning 7-6 (8-6) to give GCU a 1-0 lead.
Heading into singles the Lopes kept momentum on their side winning on two courts quickly to extend their lead to 3-0. Deaifi was the first to finish on court four with a 6-3, 6-2 win while Strombacha pushed her winning streak to five matches with a 6-2, 6-2 win at court two.
With the Lopes on the brink of victory the Spartans responded with three straight wins to level the score. Kocevar fell in straight sets while Lamoreaux and Del Marco battled in tough three-set losses at the bottom two courts.
With the match tied that set the stage for Puehse at court one. The reigning WAC Player of the Year won her first set over SJSU's Alba Pedrero Galindo 6-2 but faltered in the second losing by the same score.
The third set was tight throughout and Puehse was able to push it to a tiebreaker. The seven-point tiebreaker went into extra points and the GCU senior was able to prevail winning 6-2, 2-6 7-6 (10-8) to clinch the win.
"This team is buying into the process and together we are getting better each day," Adamovic added. "We are continuing to work on building a championship mindset and today was a big step towards this. We are going to enjoy this win and get ready for another tough match tomorrow."
The Lopes will look to keep the momentum going tomorrow when they face Santa Clara at 3:30 p.m.
The Lopes took the doubles point and split the three singles matches and it was senior Natasha Puehse that won the final match of the day a three-set thriller at the No. 1 singles spot.
"I am so proud of this team and their fight from start to finish," head coach Katarina Adamovic said. "This was a team effort. It's never easy to come and play a tough team like San Jose at their home courts but we played with huge heart and for each other. We and stayed focused and mentally tough and we took the win away from them."
The Lopes (2-5) took the crucial doubles point over the Spartans (3-4) with wins at courts one and three. Puehse and junior Santa Strombacha the reigning WAC Doubles Players of the Week, were the first to finish with a 6-2 win at the top court. San Jose State responded with a 6-3 win over freshman Anali Kocevar and graduate student Madeline Lamoreaux.
With the first two doubles matches split the point came down to court three. GCU duo of freshman Dania Deaifi and sophomore Valentina Del Marco pushed their match to a tiebreaker after being tied at 6-6. The tiebreaker was as close as the rest of the match with the GCU pair winning 7-6 (8-6) to give GCU a 1-0 lead.
Heading into singles the Lopes kept momentum on their side winning on two courts quickly to extend their lead to 3-0. Deaifi was the first to finish on court four with a 6-3, 6-2 win while Strombacha pushed her winning streak to five matches with a 6-2, 6-2 win at court two.
With the Lopes on the brink of victory the Spartans responded with three straight wins to level the score. Kocevar fell in straight sets while Lamoreaux and Del Marco battled in tough three-set losses at the bottom two courts.
With the match tied that set the stage for Puehse at court one. The reigning WAC Player of the Year won her first set over SJSU's Alba Pedrero Galindo 6-2 but faltered in the second losing by the same score.
The third set was tight throughout and Puehse was able to push it to a tiebreaker. The seven-point tiebreaker went into extra points and the GCU senior was able to prevail winning 6-2, 2-6 7-6 (10-8) to clinch the win.
"This team is buying into the process and together we are getting better each day," Adamovic added. "We are continuing to work on building a championship mindset and today was a big step towards this. We are going to enjoy this win and get ready for another tough match tomorrow."
The Lopes will look to keep the momentum going tomorrow when they face Santa Clara at 3:30 p.m.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2,3
#1 Singles Match
123
627
Alba Pedrero Galindo / 0 [SJSU]
266
#2 Singles Match
12
66
Carolina Millan / 0 [SJSU]
22
#3 Singles Match
12
32
Irena Muradyan / 0 [SJSU]
66
#4 Singles Match
12
66
Raquel Pereira / 0 [SJSU]
32
#5 Singles Match
123
714
Rozalina Youseva / 0 [SJSU]
666
#6 Singles Match
123
462
Jovana Babic / 0 [SJSU]
646
Order of Finish:
4,2,3,5,6,1
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