Fresno State Athletics
Men's Tennis Year In Review
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 31, 1999
Fresno, Calif. - Bulldogs Eliminated By LSU
The 25th-ranked Fresno State mens tennis team was eliminated from the 1999 NCAA Tennis Championships by eighth-ranked LSU, 4-1, on Sat., May 20, at the University of Georgia. Fresno State fell behind early by losing at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles before falling at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 singles. The loss drops Fresno States record to 1-5 after qualifying for the round of 16. Overall, the Bulldogs are 10-6 in NCAA Championship play. Sophomore Peter Luczak (Melbourne, Australia), ranked 64th, upset 13th-ranked Michal Chmela of LSU, 7-5, 6-3, at No. 1 in the Bulldogs loss to LSU.
Luczak: Third Fresno State All-American
Sophomore Peter Luczak became Fresno States third singles All-American by reaching the third round of the NCAA singles tournament in Athens, Ga. Luczak joins Fredrik Bergh (1995, 1996) and Fredrik Geirs (1996) as the only members of the Bulldog mens team to accomplish All-America status. To reach the third round, Luczak upset fifth-ranked Francisco Rodriquez of Alabama, 7-6, 2-6, 7-5, and 39th-ranked Tom Hand of LSU, 7-5, 6-3. Luczak was eliminated from competition by 50th-ranked Nathan Overholser of Florida, 6-3, 6-3.
Le Jeune Makes First NCAA Appearance
Junior Olivier Le Jeune (Porspoder, France) made his first appearance in the 64-player NCAA singles tournament and came within one match of All-America honors. Le Jeune defeated Tyler Cleveland of Iowa, 6-3, 3-0 (retired with leg injury), in the first round before falling to sixth-ranked Esteban Carril of TCU, 6-7, 7-5, 7-5. Against Carril, Le Jeune had match point in the second set but was unable to capitalize.
Hegarty Region VII Coach of the Year
Bulldog mens tennis coach Michael Hegarty was named Region VII Coach of the Year in just his second year as a head coach. In his two seasons with the Bulldogs, Hegarty has compiled a 35-20 record while leading his team to the 1999 Western Athletic Conference title. Hegarty has seen his team ranked as high as No. 22 in the nation and gained the top-ranking in Region VII heading into the 1999 dual season. Hegarty was also named 1999 WAC Coach of the Year. Fresno State Beats Them Win It Counts With a victory over USC in the NCAA regional tournament, Fresno State is now 3-9 all-time against the Trojans. But the Bulldogs always find a way to beat the Trojans in the postseason, as they are now 2-0 against USC in NCAA regional competition. In fact, Fresno State is the only team to keep USC from advancing to the round of 16 since the NCAA began the team format in 1974.
Dogs Capture WAC Title
The Fresno State mens tennis team captured the 1999 Western Athletic Conference Championship with a 4-3 win over eighth-ranked SMU on Saturday, April 24, at San Diego State. It is Fresno States second WAC title, with the last one coming in 1996. WAC Highlights Junior Olivier Le Jeune (Porspoder, France) defeated 11th-ranked Ignacio Hirigoyan of SMU, 7-5, 6-4, at No. 1 singles. The win was the highest-ranked player Le Jeune has ever defeated. Junior Andy Scorteanu (Palm Spring, Calif.) and sophomore Joseph Gilbert (Fullerton, Calif.) defeated fourth-ranked Dustin Mauck and Keith Pollack of SMU, 8-6, at No. 1. The victory broke a seven match losing streak and helped Fresno State win the doubles point. The win over SMU was the Bulldogs first win of the season over a Top 10 opponent in four previous attempts. Fresno State lost to seventh-ranked UCLA (7-0), second-ranked Georgia (6-1), seventh-ranked Texas (4-3) and third-ranked Mississippi. The rankings are as of the date of the match and in the order they were played.
No Sophomore Slump For Mullins
After a freshman season in which he only played six singles matches, sophomore David Mullins (Shankill, Ireland) had a break-out season, winning 30 of his 37 singles matches. Mullins played primarily at No. 4 and 5 in dual matches and had a strong Rolex Regional tournament in the Fall by reaching the final round of the consolation bracket. Not only was Mullins beginning noticed for his outstanding play at Fresno State, but was chosen to be a part of the Irish Davis Cup team in its first round match versus Slovenia.
Home, Sweet, Home
The Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center is quickly becoming one of the toughest places in the country for an opponent to leave with a victory. In the past two years, the Fresno State mens tennis team has compiled a 17-1 record and currently hold a 13-match win streak. A 4-3 loss to Arkansas on March 15, 1998, is the lone blemish. The facility also hosted the 1999 NCAA regional tournament, which the Bulldogs won with victories over 43rd-ranked UNLV (4-0) and 15th-ranked USC (4-1).
Entire Team Returns For Another Season
The party didnt end with the Bulldogs 4-1 loss to LSU at the NCAA Championships on May 22. The entire team will return to attempt to make a return trip to the NCAA Championships to try and become the first national championship team of the new millennium. Next season the team will likely be made up of three seniors (Olivier Le Jeune, Rob Cheyne and Andy Scorteanu), four juniors (Peter Luczak, David Mullins, Kevin Vieira and Joseph Gilbert) and two sophomores (Nick Fustar and Blake Smittcamp).
March Was Good To The Bulldogs
Posting a 4-7 record after April, the Bulldogs kicked it into high gear down the stretch by winning 16 of 18 matches to finish the season with a 20-9 record. In March, Fresno State was 9-0 and won those matches by a combined score of 57-6. The streak included four shutouts and five matches were the Bulldogs only lost two points. Of the nine wins, four were versus ranked opponents, including a 6-1 win over 21st-ranked California.
