Comeback clinches WAC Tournament title

Saturday, April 29

Arlington, Texas

7 a.m.

Grand Canyon

Tarleton

Photo by: Gregg Ellman/WAC

4/29/2023 11:46:00 AM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

Lopes overcome 3-1 deficit to advance to NCAA tournament for 2nd time in 3 seasons

By: Jerob Moon

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Grand Canyon women's tennis team captured its second WAC Tournament championship in program history, punching its ticket to the NCAA tournament as an automatic qualifier.

No. 4 seed GCU (15-9) overcame a 3-1 deficit to take down No. 2 seed Tarleton (17-7) for the 4-3 final that advanced the Lopes to the national tournament for the second time in program history.

First-year head coach Katarina Adamovic could not have asked for a better start to her GCU career than the Lopes going on a magical tournament run. They defeated the No. 1 and No. 2 tournament seeds en route to lifting the trophy after a thrilling tiebreakter finish to the final championship round match.

"Wow, I'm really speechless," Adamovic said. "I'm so proud of this group of girls. From Day 1, when we started working back in the fall, this is what we had in mind. To play our best tennis, to come together at this moment, for this week, and they did it. Strombacha WAC Tournament

"We had different people step up on different days. Anali (Kocevar), a true freshman giving us a point in the WAC final. Maddie (graduate Madeline Lamoreaux), who has been incredible for us the whole year, not losing a match in the WAC. And then coming down to our No. 1 and No. 2, Tash (senior Natasha Puehse) and Santa (Strombacha, a junior) who are really the heart and soul of this program."

The Lopes trailed 3-1 when an upstart Texans team, in only its second year as a Division I program, took the doubles point and two of the first three singles matches. The Lopes regrouped and found a way to win the final three matches, two of which came in three sets.

GCU was able to rely on the core four of Puehse, Strombacha, Kocevar and Lamoreaux to deliver the clutch singles wins. Those four players have combined for a 70-14 singles record with a 33-2 mark in WAC matches.

"It's crazy right now," Pueshse said after capturing her second WAC title. "After losing the second set in a close one, I had to compose myself. I knew it was going to be a close one, a tough all-around match with everyone battling. I knew it was probably going to be up to me and Santa at the end, so I just had to push her and push myself. And now we made it. This is what we worked for all year."

WTEN WAC Champs

After Lamoreaux got GCU on the board at Court 5, Kocevar began the comeback with a gritty 6-1, 7-6 win at Court 4 to make it a 3-2 match.

The spotlight then turned to Puehse and Strombacha at the top courts. Puehse rallied from a second-set loss to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 against Emma Perrson, the WAC Freshman and Player of the Year to tie the team score at 3-3.

The championship match came down to Strombacha, arguably GCU's best player, at Court 2. The native of Berlin, Germany, had 20 singles wins this season, the most in a single season at GCU since 2002, but her 21st win would be the most important.

After dropping the first set, Stormbacha responded with a 6-3 second set and prevailed in a third-set tiebreaker, 7-4, before being mobbed by her teammates.

"Of course, I felt the pressure," Strombacha said. "I had six match points, and I couldn't take it until the last one. I told myself, 'You worked so hard to get here, so now you have to do it now.' I love every person here and I'm just so happy to be on this team."

A year after being upset in the first round as the No. 1 overall seed, the Lopes once again stand on top of the mountain, advancing to the NCAA tournament for the second time in three seasons.

The Lopes await their NCAA tournament opponent with the NCAA Selection Show taking place on Monday.