Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Harvard
No. 18 Harvard Takes Out Fresno State 6-1
3/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 28, 2005
FRESNO, Calif. - Harvard survived three close first sets in the middle of the singles lineup and cruised from there in a 6-1 victory over Fresno State on Monday afternoon in a neutral-site match at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
The loss comes in the middle of a four-match stretch for the Bulldogs (8-6) that sees them play each on the road against a nationally-ranked opponent.
Fresno State, which had its four-match winning streak snapped, came away lamenting losing first sets by identical 7-5 scores at spots 2-4 in the singles lineup. At each position, the 18th-ranked Crimson (8-5) breezed to easy wins in the second set.
"Had we won some of those close first sets, I think the outcome may have been a lot closer," head coach Simon Thibodeau. "But we lost each of those, and we really didn't hang in there as well as I would have liked to see in the second set. We are in the middle of a tough stretch, so hopefully we can come back and put up a good fight this coming weekend back East."
The Bulldogs got off to a rocky start by losing the doubles point for the first time in eight matches. Fresno State lost at Nos. 1 and 2, the loss at No. 1 snapping the 11-match winning streak of 46th-ranked Lucia Sainz and Courtney Jantz. The duo bowed out to 31st-ranked Courtney Bergman and Celia Durkin.
Fresno State's only winning doubles combination was at No. 3, where Katharina Winterhalter and Fadzai Masiyazi improved to 8-0 this spring with an 8-4 victory over Alexis Martire and Stephanie Schnitter.
Singles went no better for Fresno State, which lost five matches in straight sets. The only Bulldog to post a win was Katharina Winterhalter, who upset 40th-ranked Bergman 6-4, 4-6, (10-3) at No. 1 singles.
The win helped Harvard avenge last year's 6-1 loss to Fresno State in a neutral-site match in Phoenix. The Crimson also had their No. 1 doubles team of Bergman and Susanna Lingman bow out of last year's NCAA Doubles Tournament after losing to Fresno State's Lucia Tallo and Jelena Pandzic in the first round.
The Bulldogs return to the court Friday when they take on No. 66 Virginia Commonwealth in a neutral-site match in Williamsburg, Va.
No. 18 Harvard def. No. 56 Fresno State, 6-1
Doubles (Harvard wins point)
1) #31 Durkin/Anderson (Har) def. #46 Jantz/Sainz (FS), 8-6
2) Bergman/Lingman (Har) def. Tallo/Haskett (FS), 8-5
3) Winterhalter/Masiyazi (FS) def. Martire/Schnitter (Har), 8-4
Singles
1) Katharina Winterhalter (FS) def. #40 Courtney Bergman (Har), 6-4, 4-6, (10-3)
2) #62 Susanna Lingman (Har) def. Lucia Tallo (FS), 7-5, 6-0
3) Celia Durkin (Har) def. Lucia Sainz (FS), 7-5, 6-1
4) Alexis Martire (Har) def. Courtney Jantz (FS), 7-5, 6-1
5) Melissa Anderson (Har) def. Jacqui Haskett (FS), 6-2, 6-0
6) #53 Preethi Mukundan (Har) def. Fadzai Masiyazi (FS), 6-2, 6-3
Records: Fresno State (8-6); Harvard (8-5)
