Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Pacific
Fresno State Continues Domination of Pacific in 4-3 Win
4/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 3, 2005
FRESNO, Calif. - Wins at the bottom of the lineup helped propel the Fresno State men's tennis team to a 4-3 victory over Pacific on Sunday afternoon at the Wathen Tennis Center.
The 53rd-ranked Bulldogs (9-7) had not claimed a win at either No. 5 or 6 singles in eight matches, but both positions were key in the squad snapping their five-match losing streak and improving to 17-0 all-time against Pacific.
The result was not as close as the final score might indicate. Fresno State jumped in front 1-0 after winning two of the three doubles points and then cruised at Nos. 4-6 in singles to clinch the match. After the dual had been decided, the Tigers (8-8) won at the top three slots -- including two in third-set supertiebreakers -- to bring the final score closer.
"It's nice to get back in the win column," said head coach Jay Udwadia. "It's been a while since we picked up a victory, so I'm very happy for the team that we were able to pull this one out today. Most importantly, we got some wins at the bottom of the lineup, and that's something that hadn't happened in a while. Hopefully that's a sign of things to come in the next few weeks."
Fresno State started strong, winning two of the three doubles matches to carry a 1-0 lead heading into singles. The Bulldogs clinched the point when Sergiu Modoc and Jakub Cech took out Niclas Otte and Jorgen Vestli at No. 1 by a score of 8-4.
In singles, Fresno State took care of business very quickly at the bottom three spots. The first Bulldog to finish was Sam Tadevosian at No. 6. He breezed past Austin Kekar 6-2, 6-1, but it was the circumstances surrounding the win that really made the freshman's victory interesting.
Neither Tadevosian or Kekar were in the singles lineup when the match began. In college tennis, it's a common practice for players who aren't competing in singles to play a practice match against one another. And that's precisely what Tadevosian and Kekar did as Fresno State and Pacific battled during doubles.
But after the Bulldogs took the doubles point, Pacific head coach Guido Baumann pulled No. 3 singles player Niclas Otte out of the lineup. Additionally, Udwadia elected to remove his No. 6 singles player Nicolas Mascheroni from the lineup. So a mere minutes after playing a match that didn't count and that nobody really watched, Tadevosian and Kekar took the court against each other at No. 6 in a match that was vital to Fresno State claiming the dual victory.
Tadevosian also won the exhibition match against Kekar, making the Glendale, Calif., native the first player in Wathen Tennis Center history to beat the same player twice in the same day in the same dual match.
Also victorious for the Bulldogs were Andy Sinn at No. 4 and Sam Gibbs at No. 5. Sinn cruised in a 6-1, 6-3 win over Alan Kelly while Fresno native Gibbs won 6-2, 6-2.
Fresno State has now defeated Pacific 4-3 in back-to-back seasons. Last year, the Bulldogs narrowly squeaked by the Tigers when a dehydrated, cramping Charles Irie defeated Vladimir Zdravkovic in three close sets. The 4-3 results are the only such scores in the history of the series.
Fresno State now hits the road for a tough two-match road trip. On Wednesday, the Bulldogs will play seventh-ranked Pepperdine at 1 p.m. and then 33rd-ranked San Diego on Thursday at 12:30 p.m.
No. 53 Fresno State def. Pacific, 4-3
Doubles (Fresno State wins point)
1) Modoc/Cech (FS) def. Otte/Vestli (Pac), 8-4
2) Sigurdsson/Zdravkovic (Pac) def. Irie/Mascheroni (FS), 8-2
3) Sinn/Gibbs (FS) def. Kelly/Wyatt (Pac), 8-4
Order of completion: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1) Arnar Sigurdsson (Pac) def. Jakub Cech (FS), 7-5, 5-7, (10-3)
2) Jorgen Vestli (Pac) def. Sergiu Modoc (FS), 6-2, 6-3
3) Vladimir Zdravkovic (Pac) def. Charles Irie (FS), 6-2, 0-6 (10-6)
4) Andy Sinn (FS) def. Alan Kelly (Pac), 6-1, 6-3
5) Sam Gibbs (FS) def. Dan Duong (Pac), 6-2, 6-2
6) Sam Tadevosian (FS) def. Austin Kekar (Pac), 6-2, 6-1
Order of completion: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Records: Fresno State (9-7); Pacific (8-8)
Time of Match: 3:21
Conditions: 64 degrees, cloudy, winds 5 mph
Players Mentioned
