Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Utah
No. 8 Women's Tennis Slips Past Utah 5-2
4/13/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 13, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - No. 8 Fresno State won their third straight match Friday afternoon, defeating the University of Utah 5-2 in Salt Lake City. The Bulldogs, 15-3, need just one win to equal their overall win total from all of last season, while the Utes dropped their fifth straight contest to fall to 4-12.
Fresno State opened the match by sweeping all three doubles matches en route to capturing the doubles point. The No. 3 team of Kelly Ramirez and Ewa Grusiecka had the least trouble, winning their match 8-4 over Utah's Sheri Esrock and Heidi Thomas. Friday's match was the first time the Bulldogs had swept all three doubles matches since a 6-1 victory against Boise State on March 24.
The Bulldogs also had the advantage in singles play, winning four of the six matches despite being without the services of 31st-ranked All-American junior Kim Niggemeyer. Senior Liesl Fichtbauer, ranked No. 36 nationally, won her 13th consecutive match to improve to 26-5 overall as she defeated Irini Kotoglou of Utah 6-3, 6-0 at the No. 1 spot. Juniors Simone Jardim and Chantel Wiggins, along with sophomore Kelly Ramirez, also recorded singles wins.
The Bulldogs will conclude their four-match road stretch tomorrow afternoon when they battle BYU.
Fresno State- 5
Utah- 2
Singles
No. 1) No. 36 Liesl Fichtbauer (FS) d. Irini Kotoglou (UU), 6-3, 6-0
No. 2) Simone Jardim (FS) d. Cassie Kasteler (UU), 6-2, 7-5
No. 3) Linn Ronnberg (UU) d. Ewa Grusiecka (FS), 1-6, 6-0, 6-1
No. 4) Chantel Wiggins (FS) d. Sheri Esrock (UU), 6-1, 6-4
No. 5) Kelly Ramirez (FS) d. Heidi Thomas (UU), 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
No. 6) Frida Kareld (UU) d. Courtney Jantz (FS), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
Doubles
No. 1) Wiggins/Jardim (FS) d. Kotoglou/Ronnberg (UU), 8-6
No. 2) Fichtbauer/Jantz (FS) d. Kasteler/Kareld (UU), 8-5
No. 3) Ramirez/Grusiecka (FS d. Thomas/Esrock (UU), 8-4
