Fresno State Athletics
Sainz, Winterhalter Ranked No. 4 In The Country
1/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 11, 2006
FRESNO, Calif. - Seniors Lucia Sainz and Katharina Winterhalter are now ranked No. 4 in the country, one of the highest rankings ever for a women's doubles team at Fresno State. After beginning the fall season ranked 41st, the Bulldog tandem went on a tear, winning 16 doubles matches, while losing only three.
To earn such a prestigous ranking, Sainz and Winterhalter were superb in three fall events. First, the duo dominated the field at the annual Fresno State Bulldog Classic Sept. 23-25, going 4-0 and winning 8-0 in the championship match. Then, Sainz and Winterhalter made an amazing run at the ITA All-American doubles championship Oct. 4-9. The duo had to win three consecutive matches just to qualify for the main draw. Once in the main draw, the Winterhalter/Sainz combination toppled three teams ranked in the top 11, including No. 1 Georgia. In the final, the tandem narrowly lost to the Thompson twins of Notre Dame, falling just short of winning the national ITA title.
Finally, the two seniors won all five matches during the Northwest Regionals in Stanford to win the title, only the second time in Fresno State history a women's doubles team has won the regional championship.
Winterhalter is a three-time Academic All-WAC honoree and was a 2005 first-team All-WAC selection in singles. Sainz has twice earned Academic All-WAC recognition and was a 2005 first-team All-WAC selection in both singles and doubles.
In the team rankings, the Bulldogs open the season at No. 46. The team begins the 2006 dual match year at Stanford on Friday, Jan. 27. The 'Dogs then come home to host Santa Barbara on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 9 am.
