Fresno State Athletics
Men's Tennis No. 24 In Final Rankings
6/1/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
June 1, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State's men's and women's tennis teams finished in the top-25 of their respective polls in the final WingspanBank.com collegiate tennis rankings released by the ITA National Ranking Committee earlier this morning. The women's squad finished No. 14, while the men hold the No. 24 spot.
The women's team (21-5) dropped two spots from their previous No. 12 ranking to finish the season at No. 14. The lady Bulldogs had one of the best seasons in recent memory, posting a 20-win campaign under first-year head coach Kevin Epley. The women were ranked as high as No. 8 this year, representing the highest ranking in Fresno State women's tennis history. After a runner-up finish in the WAC Tournament, the Bulldogs were invited to the NCAA Tournament and hosted a regional. The Bulldogs had little trouble dispatching of Cal State Northridge 4-1 in the first round before being upset on their home court by UCLA 4-3 in the second round. Six of the seven players that competed this season will be back for next year.
The men's team (18-9) concluded their year at No. 24, dropping one spot from their previous ranking of No. 23. After playing .500 tennis through their first eight matches, the Bulldogs caught fire following a runner-up finish at the Blue-Gray Classic in March. Fresno State finished 8-2 in their final ten regular season contests and earned a runner-up finish in the WAC Tournament. The Bulldogs were then awarded a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth consecutive year, where they fell 4-3 to California in the second round after clipping Wake Forest 4-3 in the opening round. Fresno State loses three seniors and will feature only four players on next year's roster that saw action this season.
On the women's side, junior All-American Kim Niggemeyer finished the season ranked No. 29. The Berlin, Germany, native (25-10 overall, 18-5 dual) qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship for the second straight season. The All-WAC first team singles selection was eliminated in the first round of the tournament. Niggemeyer was second on the team in singles wins, playing all her matches at the No. 1 position.
Senior All-American Liesl Fichtbauer, the 2001 WAC Player of the Year, finished the season at the No. 33 spot. Fichtbauer led the Bulldogs in singles wins, as she notched a 34-7 overall record and a 21-4 mark in dual-match competition. She recorded her 100th career singles victory in her final home match against UCLA's Catherine Hawley in the NCAA Tournament, and her 102 career singles wins place her second on the all-time list. The All-WAC first team selection won her first two matches in the NCAA Singles Championship before falling to eventual champion Laura Granville of Stanford in the third round.
The doubles team of Niggemeyer and Simone Jardim (25-5 overall, 19-3 dual) finished the season ranked No. 6. The All-WAC first team doubles selection advanced to the second round of the NCAA Doubles Championships. Fresno State finished the season 17-2 overall in matches when Niggemeyer/Jardim won their individual doubles match.
For the men, senior Peter Luczak enjoyed the most impressive season of his career, posting a 27-1 overall record and finishing ranked No. 6. Entering the NCAA Singles Championship, where he suffered his only loss of the season in the first round, he had been the only undefeated player in the nation. Luczak, the ITA National Senior Player of the Year, led the Bulldogs in singles wins and became the all-time singles leader at Fresno State with a win against SMU's Genius Chidzikwe in the WAC Tournament semifinals. The All-WAC singles first team selection compiled a 109-35 overall singles record during his four-year Bulldog career.
Two Fresno State men's tennis teams finished ranked in the top-50. Luczak and senior David Mullins are No. 9, while junior Nick Fustar and senior Sean Cooper are ranked No. 40. Luczak/Mullins finished with a 19-3 mark and garnered All-American status as a result of being tabbed as a No. 5-8 seed in the NCAA Doubles Championship. The senior tandem was bounced in the second round of the NCAA Doubles Championship after a first round victory. Fustar/Cooper, playing primarily at the No. 2 spot, were 17-6 overall on the season. The duo was ranked as high as No. 29 this season and won nine of their final eleven doubles matches.
