Fresno State Athletics
Men's Tennis: Bulldogs Split In Arizona
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
February 1, 1999
Fresno, Calif. - This Weeks Matches
Tues., February 2 at # 15 USC 1:30 p.m. Thur.-Sun., Feb. 4-7 at National Individual Indoors TBA in Dallas, Texas
Last Weeks Matches
Tues., January 26 at # 17 Arizona State L, 4-3 Wed., January 27 at # 45 Arizona W, 6-1
Dogs Stay On The Road
Fresno State will wrap-up their four match road trip to begin the season on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 15th-ranked USC, before their dual match home-opener against Cal Poly on Saturday, Feb. 13. The Trojans come into the match with a 5-0 record after defeating 45th-ranked Arizona, 6-1, on Saturday, Jan. 30. The Bulldogs and Trojans have a common opponent in 17th-ranked Arizona State. USC defeated the Sun Devils, 4-3, while Fresno State fell to ASU, 4-3. The Bulldogs also defeated 45th-ranked Arizona, 6-1. In the series, Fresno State has lost nine of the 10 matches between the two teams. The Bulldogs lone win was a 5-2 dual match victory in Los Angeles in 1996. The Trojans won last years match 5-2.
Cheyne Competes at National Indoors This Week
Junior Rob Cheyne (Wellington, New Zealand) will compete at the National Individual Indoors in Dallas, Texas on Thursday, Feb. 4-7. Cheyne will be making his first appearance at the event and earned the right to make the trip after reaching the finals of the Region VII singles tournament in November 1998. The last Fresno State mens player to compete in the Indoors was All-American Fredrik Bergh in the 1994-95 season.
Bulldogs Split in Arizona
With a loss to 17th-ranked Arizona State, 4-3, and a win over 45th-ranked University of Arizona, 6-1, the Bulldogs split their dual matches on last weeks trip to Arizona. Fresno State started the trip with a close loss to the Sun Devils as they split the six singles matches, but dropped the critical doubles point to dash their hopes for an upset. Fresno State sophomore Peter Luczak (Melbourne, Australia), ranked 40th, upset 30th-ranked Gustavo Maraccio of ASU, 7-6, 1-6, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. In Tucson, the Bulldogs earned their first dual win of the season as they won five of the six singles matches and captured their first doubles point of the season against Arizona.
Bulldogs Receive Top 25 Ranking
For the first time under head coach Michael Hegarty, the Fresno State mens tennis team was able to secure a spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Associations Top 25. The Bulldogs were ranked 22nd as a team in rankings released by the ITA on Dec. 8, 1998. To go along with the team success, three Fresno State players were ranked in the ITAs Top 100 singles rankings. Luczak, ranked 58th in the preseason, moved-up to 40th, while Le Jeune and Cheyne made their debut on the list at the 43rd and 60th spots, respectively.
