Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Tulane<BR>(UNLV Invitational)
No. 14 Fresno State Wins Big in Las Vegas
2/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 29, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - Who was the big winner today in Las Vegas? The Fresno State women's tennis team, that's who.
Behind Lucia Tallo's three-set win at No. 2 singles, the 14th-ranked Bulldogs made it a clean sweep of the UNLV Invitational this weekend by defeating No. 27 Tulane 4-3 in the tournament finals. The victory was the fifth in a row for Fresno State (6-1), which wrapped up a tough February schedule in fantastic style.
Tulane (9-1) absorbed its first loss of the year, but just barely.
Tallo had to respond from a 3-1 deficit in the third set to clinch victory for the Bulldogs. The junior rallied immediately after Fresno State's Courtney Jantz lost 6-4, 7-5 at No. 6 singles, making the dual match score 3-3.
It marked the third time Tallo has clinched a win for Fresno State in the past two years.
The Bulldogs claimed the opening doubles point by winning two of three doubles. At No. 1, the team of Jelena Pandzic and Tallo defeated Nancy Kockott and Dorottya Magas 8-5 and sealed a 1-0 lead for Fresno State heading into singles.
It marked the 16th time in the last 17 matches the Bulldogs won the doubles point.
Fresno State made it a 2-0 lead behind 29th-ranked Jelena Pandzic, who was money yet again to run her record to 7-0 since becoming eligible in January. The freshman took our Maria Ivanov 6-3, 6-1, her sixth straight-set victory in seven matches.
Also posting a singles win for the Bulldogs was Lucia Sainz, who took out Kockott at No. 5 7-5, 6-2.
"This is a very rewarding win for our team," interim head coach Simon Thibodeau said. "Tulane is very, very good, and they are going to beat a lot of teams this year. I really expect them to be in the top 15 or top 20 in another month. So for us to play like we did and beat them really speaks for how well we played.
 Lucia Sainz's win at No. 5 singles was a key ingredient in Fresno State's victory over Tulane on Sunday.  | |
"The most important thing we are doing right is that we are getting better. There's a long way to go in this season, and we've still got a lot of matches to play, so what we need to do is just keep improving like we are right now."
The Bulldogs' improvement fortunately came at a rapid rate. On Jan. 25, the team opened up the dual match season with a home victory against TCU. What lied ahead of them in February were six matches, all away from home and all but one against a nationally-ranked opponent.
The results were as solid as anyone could have hoped -- five victories, including the program's first win over then-No. 4 California in Berkeley on Feb. 21. Fresno State jumped to No. 14 in the national poll, the highest it had been since February 2002. The only blemish during the month came at UCLA, a 4-3 loss on Feb. 13 to a Bruin team currently ranked eighth.
Since the season opener against the Horned Frogs, Fresno State has not played a home match.
Things don't get much easier for the Bulldogs this week. They travel to take on top-ranked Stanford on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
Fresno State finally returns home Saturday when it hosts Loyola Marymount at 10 a.m.
No. 14 Fresno State def. No. 27 Tulane, 4-3
Doubles (Fresno State wins point)
1) Pandzic/Tallo (FS) def. Kockott/Magas (TU) 8-5
2) M. Ivanov/Kuhn (TU) def. Sainz/Winterhaller (FS) 8-4
3) Jantz/Jovanovic (FS) def. D. Ivanov/Saaibi (TU) 8-3
Singles
1) #29 Jelena Pandzic (FS) def. Maria Ivanov (TU) 6-3, 6-1
2) Lucia Tallo (FS) def. Jenny Kuhn (TU) 6-3, 1-6, 6-4*
3) #58 Darya Ivanov (TU) def. Katharina Winterhaller (FS) 6-1, 6-4
4) #95 Dorottya Magas (TU) def. Vlatka Javanovic (FS) 6-2, 6-1
5) Lucia Sainz (FS) def. Nancy Kockott (TU) 7-5, 6-2
6) Ana Saaibi (TU) def. Courtney Jantz (FS) 6-4, 7-5
* Indicates clinching match
Records: Fresno State (6-1); Tulane (9-1)
