Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Idaho
No. 10 Fresno State Pounds Idaho 7-0
4/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 2, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - After being pushed to the limit in their two most recent matches, the 10th-ranked Fresno State women's tennis team returned to the Wathen Tennis Center on Friday and breezed to a 7-0 victory over Idaho.
The win was the ninth in a row and 14th in 15 matches for the Bulldogs (15-2), who improved to 7-0 at home this year and 63-7 since the opening of the Wathen Center in 1998.
"I was happy to see us come out with some intensity and the desire to take things right at them," said interim head coach Simon Thibodeau. "We have had such a busy stretch in the last two weeks, so I was a little worried that we could show some fatigued. But that didn't happen, and everyone ended up doing what they needed to do to win."
Fresno State was forced to dig deep in its recent wins over No. 36 Arizona and then-No. 24 Harvard last week. But on Friday afternoon, the Bulldogs never let Idaho (9-6) sink its teeth into a match that was completed in an incredibly brisk 2 hours and 32 minutes. Fresno State took a 1-0 lead immediately by cruising at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles. At No. 1, the 44th-ranked tandem of Jelena Pandzic and Lucia Tallo won their ninth in a row with a 8-0 thrashing of Sunel Nieuwoudt and Jessica Hubbard.
Also winning their ninth in a row were Katharina Winterhalter and Lucia Sainz, who won 8-3 at No. 2. It was the duo's 19th win of the season.
In singles, the Bulldogs dropped just 20 combined games in posting six straight-set victories. At No. 1, the 17th-ranked Pandzic had no problem with Nieuwoudt, winning 6-0, 6-2. The victory improved the freshman's record to 17-0 this season.
Also winning easily were 76th-ranked Tallo at No. 2, Sainz at No. 5 and Courtney Jantz at No. 6.
At No. 3, Winterhalter defeated Monica Martin 6-0, 7-5 to claim her ninth win in a row, the longest streak of the sophomore's career. During that stretch, Winterhalter has lost only one set.
Next up for Fresno State is a match on Saturday against No. 60 Cal Poly at 1 p.m. at the Wathen Tennis Center.
No. 10 Fresno State 7, Idaho 0
Doubles (Fresno State wins point)
1) #44 Pandzic/Tallo (FS) def. Nieuwoudt/Hubbard (Idaho), 8-0
2) Sainz/Winterhalter (FS) def. Tinnirello/Konishi (Idaho), 8-3
3) Jantz/Jovanovic (FS) vs. Martin/Ruman (Idaho), 5-5 suspended
Order of completion: 1, 2, -
Singles
1) #17 Jelena Pandzic (FS) def. Sunel Nieuwoudt (Idaho), 6-0, 6-2
2) #76 Lucia Tallo (FS) def. Jessica Hubbard (Idaho), 6-2, 6-0
3) Katharina Winterhalter (FS) def. Monica Martin (Idaho), 6-0, 7-5
4) Vlatka Jovanovic (FS) def. Patricia Ruman (Idaho), 6-3, 6-2
5) Lucia Sainz (FS) def. Kareen Konishi (Idaho), 6-0, 6-3
6) Courtney Jantz (FS) def. Tara Fielding (Idaho), 6-1, 6-2
Order of completion: 1, 5, 2, 6, 4, 3
Records: Fresno State (15-2); Idaho (9-6)
Time of Match: 2:32
Conditions: 71 degrees, sunny, winds 8 mph
