Men's Tennis Prepared To Battle At WCC Championships
4/23/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
SPOKANE, Wash. - Entering the West Coast Conference Championships, the Gonzaga University men's tennis team knows they can compete in the competitive league. The ninth-seed Zags are looking to brush away its 7-17 (0-8 WCC) record aside and just play tennis at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, Calif.
"These guys have proved to be resilient all season long," head coach Peter MacDonald said. "Every match feels like it has been close and we're just a point here or there from having a complete different record. I know the team will go out and play competitive tennis."
The Bulldogs have been in a number of close WCC matches in the spring. Against University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University, University of Portland and Loyola Marymount University the Zags narrowly fell 4-3.
As the WCC Championship bracket was released, three of those opponents (Santa Clara, San Francisco and Loyola Marymount) fell into GU's portion of the bracket.
"This is a tough conference for tennis," MacDonald said. "Every team is talented from top to bottom and teams are only getting better."
Indeed. Gonzaga will face fourth-seed Santa Clara Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. If they advance, they will face the winner of San Francisco and Loyola Marymount.
The Zags and Broncos should know what to expect when they face off, considering the just played five days ago at Santa Clara. In the match Alvaro Nazal, Levin Guillermo and Jack Schoebel all won to split the singles matches. Santa Clara prevailed by winning the doubles point.
However, the journey of Nazal, Guillermo and Schoebel show the positive direction the team is moving in.
Nazal broke the program-record for wins in a season with his 27-8 campaign. Nazal went 6-2 in WCC matches and will continue to improve as he is just a sophomore. His work off the court will rub off on freshman Hayden Smith and Vicente Varas continuing to make a competitive and winning environment.
Guillermo is a four-year contributor to the team and has been the model of consistency. Guillermo's success on the court has mirrored his academic success (2013 WCC All-Academic member) while he remains a senior leader with Olivier Jamin.
Schoebel who walked-on to the team a year ago, won his first WCC match against Santa Clara. His path to earning a role with the program proves that hard work and dedication pay off.
"I am very proud of all our guys," MacDonald said. "We have our ups and downs, but we have always kept fighting. I would expect us to do the same in San Diego."
