Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Pacific
No. 46 Men's Tennis Wins Dramatic Match Over Pacific
4/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 18, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - On a day where Fresno State honored its two seniors playing in their final home match, the team saved its biggest celebration for a callow freshman who played the role of hero.
Freshman Charles Irie, fighting through fatigue and cramps the majority of the third set, defeated Vladimir Zdravkovic 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-5 at No. 4 singles to lift the Bulldogs to a 4-3 victory over Pacific on Sunday evening at the Wathen Tennis Center.
Playing in just his 14th college tennis match, Irie's win was the dramatic capper to a perfect home season for Fresno State (13-8), which finished the 2003-04 campaign 11-0 at the Wathen Tennis Center. It marks the first time since 1999 the team has gone an entire season unbeaten at home.
Pacific (12-9), which has lost three of its last four, just missed out on its first ever victory over the Bulldogs, who are now 16-0 all-time against the Tigers but had to survive the closest match in the history of the series.
The day started in rocky fashion for Fresno State, which dropped two of the three doubles matches to fall behind 1-0. The only tandem to notch a win for the Bulldogs were Alex Krohn and Jakub Cech at No. 2. They defeated Michael Duong and Zdravkovic 8-5.
In singles, Fresno State appeared to grab the momentum back from Pacific by claiming the first set in five of the six matches. The Bulldogs tied the score 1-1 when Krohn, one of the team's two seniors, breezed past Duong 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3. It was the 64th singles victory of Krohn's four-year Fresno State career.
The Tigers jumped back on top 2-1 when Lennart Maack continued his impressive year by taking out Greg Shearer 6-3, 6-0 at No. 1. The win improved Maack to 17-4 in dual matches in 2004.
But moments later, Fresno State tied the dual at 2-2 when Andy Sinn finished off Alan Kelly at No. 6 by scores of 6-2, 6-0. That left three matches on court -- No. 2, 4 and 5, where the Bulldogs had won the first set in each but were all trailing in the second set.
The first to break through was Cech at No. 5, who despite being down a break in the second set battled back to claim a 7-6 (3), 7-5 victory over Niclas Otte, giving Fresno State its first lead of the day at 3-2.
But while the day was sweet for the senior Krohn, it was much less so for the other senior, Stefan Suta. His 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1 loss to Arnar Sigurdsson at No. 2 knotted the match up at 3-3, setting the stage for Irie's dramatics at No. 4.
After being broken in the first game of the third set, Irie rattled off three games in a row to take a 3-1 advantage. But that's when the body of the Abidjan, Ivory Coast, native began to break down. He received a medical timeout while ahead 3-1 in the third set for cramping. Irie continued to play, albeit while moving gingerly.
Zdravkovic used a service break to tie the score at 3-3. There were no more breaks of serve until 6-5, when Irie rushed the net on his third match point and forced a backhand into the net by Zdravkovic, ending the 4 hour and 20 minute match.
It marked the second time this year Irie clinched a home match with a three-set victory. He also pulled off the feat when the Bulldogs upset No. 10 Washington on Feb. 20.
Next up for Fresno State is the WAC Tournament, which takes place April 30-May 2 at Rice University.
No. 46 Fresno State def. Pacific, 4-3
Doubles (Pacific wins point)
1) Maack/Otte (Pac) def. Suta/Modoc (FS), 8-6
2) Krohn/Cech (FS) def. Duong/Zdravkovic (Pac), 8-5
3) Sigurdsson/Black (Pac) def. Shearer/Sinn (FS), 8-6
Order of completion: 1, 3, 2
Singles
1) Lennart Maack (Pac) def. #70 Greg Shearer (FS), 6-3, 6-0
2) Arnar Sigurdsson (Pac) def. Stefan Suta (FS), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1
3) Alex Krohn (FS) def. Michael Duong (Pac), 6-1, 6-0
4) Charles Irie (FS) def. Vladimir Zdravkovic (Pac), 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-5*
5) Jakub Cech (FS) def. Niclas Otte (Pac), 7-6 (3), 7-5
6) Andy Sinn (FS) def. Alan Kelly (Pac), 6-2, 6-0
Order of completion: 3, 1, 6, 5, 2, 4
* Indicates clinching match
Records: Fresno State (13-8); Pacific (12-9)
Time of Match: 4:20
Conditions: 61 degrees, cloudy, winds 5-10 mph
