Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State Draws Oregon in First Round NCAA Tournament Match
5/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 4, 2005
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State women's tennis team will play Oregon in an NCAA Tournament first round match in Stanford, Calif., on Friday, May 13, at 10 a.m. The draw was revealed this afternoon in the tournament's selection show on ESPNews.
The 45th-ranked Bulldogs (16-8) are playing in their 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament. They earned an automatic bid into the annual event by winning their fourth straight WAC Tournament on April 23 with a 4-0 victory over Rice in Honolulu.
Should the Bulldogs win their opening match, they will take on the winner of top-seeded and defending national champion Stanford and Army in the second round on Saturday, May 15, at noon. The Cardinal, who enter the NCAA's riding a 50-match winning streak, feature seven nationally ranked singles players.
Fresno State enters the NCAA Tournament playing its best tennis of the season. The team has won eight in a row, defeating their opponents by a combined 42-7 score.
"Oregon will be a big test for us," head coach Simon Thibodeau said. "Although we haven't played them this year, we are familiar with how good they are. They have had a very good year and certainly won't be intimidated by the environment of playing in an NCAA Tournament. It's important this time of year to take things one match at a time, so that's what our focus is right now."
The Bulldogs own a 6-1 lead in the all-time series with Oregon. The two teams haven't hooked up since March 4, 2001, when Fresno State knocked off the Ducks 4-2 at the Wathen Tennis Center. It will be the first ever matchup between the schools in an NCAA Tournament match.
Oregon (16-7), which won its last three matches of the regular season, is led by a strong top of the lineup that features three nationally ranked singles players. Daria Panova (15-7 record in the spring) is ranked 51st, Davina Mendiburu (16-7) is 98th and Dominika Dieskova (15-8) is 117th. In doubles, the Ducks' top team of Panova and Dieskova are ranked 53rd.
Fresno State features one singles player and one doubles team in the latest rankings - Katharina Winterhalter is 99th, while in doubles, Lucia Sainz and Courtney Jantz are 41st.
The first two rounds of the NCAA Tennis Tournament are played at various campus sites around the nation. The round of 16 through the championship match are contested at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga., from May 19-22. The singles and doubles tournaments are also played at UGA from May 23-28.
Fresno State reached the round of 16 at last year's NCAA's for just the second time in program history. After knocking off Sacramento State in its first round match, the Bulldogs upset host and 11th-seeded California 4-3 in the second round, a victory that was made possible when Courtney Jantz came all the way back from a 2-5, love-40 deficit in the third set to beat Jessica Shu 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
The team's run was eventually stopped with a narrow 4-2 loss to host and sixth-seeded Georgia in the round of 16, a wacky match that didn't finish until well after midnight local time.
NCAA Tournament Information
First Round Match: Fresno State (16-8) vs. Oregon (16-7)
National Rankings: Fresno State, 45th; Oregon, 29th
Where: Taube Family Tennis Center (Stanford, Calif.)
When: Friday, May 13
Time: 10 a.m.
History: Fresno State leads all-time series 6-1
Last match: March 4, 2001 (at FS 4, Oregon 2)
vs. Oregon in NCAA Tournament: First meeting
NCAA Tournament Matchups - Stanford Regional
First Round - Friday, May 13
10 a.m.: Fresno State vs. Oregon
2 p.m.: Army at #1 Stanford
Second Round - Saturday, May 14
Noon: Fresno State/Oregon vs. Army/Stanford
All matches played at the Taube Family Tennis Center
