Fresno State Athletics
WAC Men's Championship Match Set
4/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 28, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Top-seeded TCU and third-seeded Fresno State each won semifinal matches Saturday afternoon at the 2001 WAC tennis championships at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center. The two schools will meet in the championship match Sunday at 9 a.m.
Fresno State recorded four singles victories en route to a 4-3 victory over second-seeded SMU. The Bulldogs fell behind 1-0 early after the Mustangs won two of three doubles, snapping a string of 14 consecutive matches in which FS had claimed the doubles point. Fresno State came back strong, however, and rallied to win matches at the Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5 spots of the lineup. Senior Peter Luczak, ranked No. 13 nationally, defeated SMU's fourth-ranked Genius Chidzikwe 6-2, 6-4 to surpass Bryan Juinio and become the winningest singles player in program history with 106 victories. But the outcome of the match was determined long after Luczak's duel was finished. At No. 3 singles, FS's David Mullins clinched the victory with a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5) win. It marked the third consecutive season the Mustangs and Bulldogs had battled in the WAC championships to a tiebreaker in the third set of the final match. Fresno State has won two of the epic battles, also emerging victorious in 1999.
TCU advanced to Sunday's championship match in more routine fashion, routing No. 4-seed Rice 4-0 in the other semifinal. The Horned Frogs, the tournament's top seed, won doubles matches at the Nos. 1 and 3 spots to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The team of Jimmy Haney and Trace Fielding, ranked No. 22 in the nation, led the attack with an 8-5 win at the No. 1 spot. TCU won three singles matches to seal the victory. Eighth-ranked Esteban Carril, Scot Eddins and Jimmy Haney all collected singles wins at the Nos. 1, 3 and 6 spots, respectively.
