Fresno State Athletics
Men's Tennis Season in Review
6/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
June 10, 2004
The Fresno State men's tennis team began the season Jan. 17 ranked 36th in the nation but looking to move up. After all, they were coming off a fairly successful 2002-03, one that saw them reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament and lose in gut-wrenching fashion in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament.
Throw in the addition of three strong additions to the team at the semester break, and the Bulldogs were anxious to kick things off.
It all got started with a home doubleheader against San Francisco and Cal Poly. Fresno State rolled over both by scores of 6-1, sending the team into a steep early test with a 2-0 record.
But when the schedule turned tougher, the Bulldogs' wins became harder to find. On a two-match road trip to No. 7 UCLA and No. 21 USC, Fresno State lost twice to fall to 2-2. The silver lining amidst the two defeats came against the Trojans, an eventual national semifinalist. The Bulldogs battled USC to the bitter end, actually having an upset win in their sights at one point.
The next weekend, the team hit the road again for a trip to Houston for matches against 38th-ranked Arizona and 24th-ranked Rice. The outcome in both was the same as the previous weekend - two losses. Fresno State fell to the Wildcats 4-3 before being done in by the Owls 5-2.
Staggered but still on their feet, the Bulldogs returned home 2-4 and ranked 39th nationally. They got back on the winning track against No. 73 BYU, defeating the Cougars despite losing the doubles point. Fresno State struggled in its next match at Santa Clara but still prevailed 4-3 to even up its record at 4-4. Things were looking good, and they were about to get a whole lot better.
It was a cool late winter day in Fresno on Feb. 20 when the Bulldogs played host to 10th-ranked Washington at the Wathen Tennis Center. At the time, Fresno State was ranked 39th. After jumping out to a surprising 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point, the Bulldogs kept the pressure on by taking wins at No. 3 and 6 singles. The Huskies hung in with wins at Nos. 2, 4 and 5, meaning it all came down to No. 4, where newcomer Charles Irie was looking to win the biggest match of his young career.
Irie picked up a break early in the third set and never let up, holding serve easily to score a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory that lifted Fresno State to the biggest win of the Brad Dancer Era. Their four-match losing streak was now deep in the rear-view mirror, and the Bulldogs were moving forward with confidence.
Moving up to 30th nationally buoyed Fresno State, which scored a 5-2 win over 33rd-ranked Boise State, a triumph that would be a huge step late in the season around NCAA Tournament time, when the Bulldogs and Broncos were both considered "on the bubble" to receive at-large bids. That was followed up with a 5-2 win over Santa Clara that was much less dramatic than the first time the two teams met during the season.
Sporting a 7-4 record and a five-match winning streak, it appeared things couldn't be going better for the Bulldogs as they entered the annual Blue-Gray Classic in Montgomery, Ala. But inexplicably, Fresno State simply fell off a cliff while in the south, suffering brutal 4-0 losses to No. 44 Notre Dame and No. 52 Brown. Only a 4-0 win over unranked Colorado helped the Bulldogs avoid a winless road trip. The two losses to teams ranked beneath them dropped Fresno State to No. 38 heading into a matchup with Minnesota.
The contest with the 39th-ranked Gophers was interesting, and not only in the manner in which it ended. After dropping the doubles, the Bulldogs climbed back into it and eventually tied things at 3-3, setting the stage for No. 6 singles, where Andy Sinn battled deep into the night with his opponent from Minnesota. In fact, the two battled so late they ran out of light at the Wathen Tennis Center. So at 5-5 in the third set of the deciding match, both teams drove north to the Copper River Country Club to finish under the lights. Once there, Sinn played as if he had a dinner date, winning eight of 10 points to pull out a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 victory.
Like the win over Boise State earlier in the year, the Minnesota victory - which came against a team that finished the regular season ranked in the top 35 - would be key around NCAA Tournament selection time.
Fresno State then took an 18-day break before returning to the court April 4 for easy 6-1 wins over UC San Diego and UC Davis, improving the team's record to 11-6. But as was their custom all season, once the Bulldogs appeared to take three steps forward, they'd immediately take two backwards. A disheartening 4-3 loss on the road to unranked UC Santa Barbara sapped any confidence Fresno State had following a four-match winning streak. That was followed the next day by a 5-2 defeat at the hands of 20th-ranked Pepperdine.
The Bulldogs returned home after the loss to the Waves knowing they had one thing going for them - two more matches at home, a place where they were undefeated on the season. Fresno State managed to stay that way on the final weekend of the regular season with a 5-2 victory over UC Irvine and then a white-knuckle win over Pacific, which was clinched by a cramping and fatigued Irie at No. 4 singles.
But that was the last time the Bulldogs would taste victory in 2003-04. They lost in the first round of the WAC Tournament for just the second time ever, falling 4-3 to Tulsa. And though Fresno State did receive a berth in NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in the last 11 years, the team fell 4-0 to Pepperdine in Westwood, Calif., ending its season at 14-10.
Several Bulldogs did earn accolades for their solid seasons. Greg Shearer was named to the All-WAC first team in singles. Second-team honorees were Alex Krohn, Stefan Suta and Charles Irie. And in doubles, Krohn and Jakub Cech were voted onto the All-WAC second team in doubles.
