Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Sacramento State
No. 31 Fresno State Upset by Sacramento State 4-3
3/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 5, 2005
FRESNO, Calif. - Sacramento State rebounded from dropping the doubles point to upset No. 31 Fresno State 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at the Wathen Tennis Center, snapping the Bulldogs' 15-match home court winning streak.
It marks the second year in a row the 46th-ranked Hornets (9-3) have defeated Fresno State in the regular season. Sacramento State stunned the then-10th-ranked Bulldogs 6-1 last season before Fresno State exacted its revenge in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs (3-4) had not lost at home since a March 2003 defeat at the hands of William and Mary. The loss comes just six days after the men's team had its 20-match home court winning streak snapped with a loss to Rice.
"I thought we did some good things today, but we just came up a little bit short," head coach Simon Thibodeau said. "Sacramento State is a very good team. I believe them to be a top 25 team. We were right there with them but just couldn't get that one victory to put us over the top."
Things started well enough for Fresno State, which won two of the three doubles matches for an early 1-0 lead. At No. 1, 49th-ranked Courtney Jantz and Lucia Sainz continued to roll with an 8-4 victory over Margarita Karnaukhova and Anna Karaveyeva. The Bulldogs also picked up a win at No. 3, with Katharina Winterhalter and Fadzai Masiyazi, playing together for the first time this year, defeating Cecilia Helland and Roberta Fessenko 8-5.
But in singles, the Hornets -- who experienced their greatest season ever a year ago -- rolled at Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 6, losing a mere 16 combined games in the four wins. At No. 1, the 19th-ranked Karnaukhova knocked off Winterhalter 6-2, 6-3.
With the dual score 3-2 in favor of Sacramento State, Klara Pettersoon at No. 4 clinched the victory when she took out Jantz 6-3, 6-2. At the time, Haskett at No. 5 was in control of her match with Karaveyeva. Haskett went on to win 6-4, 6-2.
Also posting a singles win for the Bulldogs was Sainz at No. 3. The junior won her fourth in a row by pummeling Roberta Fessenko 6-0, 6-1 in just 40 minutes. The victory was the 15th on the year for Sainz, tying her with Winterhalter for team high honors.
"`Lucky' Sainz was one of the bright spots today for us," Thibodeau said. "She played amazing, just hitting winners all over the place. She is putting together a really good season right now."
Next up for Fresno State is a match against Gonzaga on Friday at noon at the Wathen Tennis Center.
No. 46 Sacramento State def. No. 31 Fresno State, 4-3
Doubles (Fresno State wins point)
1) #49 Jantz/Sainz (FS) def. Karnaukhova/Karaveyeva (Sac St), 8-4
2) Erikson/Petersson (Sac St) def. Tallo/Haskett (FS), 8-6
3) Fadzai/Winterhalter (FS) def. Fessenko/Helland (Sac St), 8-5
Singles
1) #19 Margarita Karnakhova (Sac St) def. Katharina Winterhalter (FS), 6-2, 6-3
2) Anna Erikson (Sac St) def. Lucia Tallo (FS), 6-1, 1-0 retired (injury)
3) Lucia Sainz (FS) def. Roberta Fessenko (Sac St), 6-0, 6-1
4) Klara Petersson (Sac St) def. Courtney Jantz (FS), 6-3, 6-2
5) Jacqui Haskett (FS) def. Anna Karaveyeva (Sac St), 6-4, 6-2
6) Cecilia Helland (Sac St) def. Fadzai Masiyazi (Sac St), 6-3, 6-2
Records: Fresno State (3-4); Sacramento State (9-3)
