Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
WAC Championship
Bulldogs Lose Heartbreaker In WAC Title Match
4/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 23, 2006
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State men's tennis team fell 4-3 to Boise State in a heartbreaker during the Western Athletic Conference title match, Sunday afternoon at the Appleton Tennis Center in Boise, Idaho. The match was decided at No. 2 singles as senior Sergiu Modoc and Boise State's Thomas Schoeck battled to the finish. Modoc won the first set and Schoeck won the second. The two fought all the way to the third set tiebreaker before Shoeck prevailed 7-4. The Broncos improved to 20-5 on the season with the win, while the Bulldogs fell to 15-7.
"I'm so proud of our guys, they competed very well throughout this entire tournament," said head coach Jay Udwadia. "They fought their hearts out today and we put ourselves in a great situation to win. We just came up a little bit short."
The Broncos took an early lead after winning the doubles point. Boise State won at No. 2 doubles, but the Bulldogs stayed close as junior Jakub Cech and sophomore Sam Tadevosian won 9-8 (2) at the No. 3 spot in the lineup. But Schoeck and Luke Shields defeated Modoc and senior Sam Gibbs 9-7 to take the point.
In singles the Bulldogs responded with three wins. Cech defeated Shields for the second time this season at the No. 1 spot just before freshman Jordi Ballester had beaten Brent Werbeck in straight sets. Boise State still led 3-2 when freshman Rudolf Siwy, trailing from one set down, won the last two sets to defeat Clancy Shields at No. 3 singles.
Cech was named the WAC Player of the Year, and rightly so, after defeating Shields for the second time in less than a month. Cech was named to the first-team All-WAC in singles for the second straight year and now owns a record of 16-4 in dual matches and 22-8 overall.
Modoc and Siwy were both named to second-team in singles. Modoc and Gibbs earned first-team All-WAC in doubles, and Siwy and junior Charles Irie earned second-team status in doubles.
The Bulldogs will now await a possible birth into the upcoming NCAA tournament. Currently, Fresno State is ranked No. 47, finishing the regular season and WAC tournament with a 15-7 mark.
NCAA Men's Tennis
April 23, 2006
WAC Championships • Final • Boise, Idaho
Boise State (1) def. Fresno State (2), 4-3
Doubles (Boise State wins doubles point)
1) No. 57 Schoeck/L. Shields (BSU) def. No. 37 Gibbs/Modoc (FS), 9-7
2) Robertson/C. Shields (BSU) def. Irie/Siwy (FS), 8-2
3) Cech/Tadevosian (FS) def. Dilaj/Roberson (BSU), 9-8 (2)
Order of completion: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1) No. 49 Jakub Cech (FS) def. No. 42 Luke Shields (BSU), 6-4, 7-6 (1)
2) No. 125 Thomas Schoeck (BSU) def. Sergiu Modoc (FS), 6-7 (2), 6-2, 7-6 (4)
3) Rudolf Siwy (FS) def. Clancy Shields (BSU), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
4) Eric Roberson (BSU) def. Charles Irie (FS), 6-1, 2-6, 6-3
5) Piotr Dilaj (BSU) def. Sam Tadevosian (FS), 6-2, 6-3
6) Jordi Ballester (FS) def. Brent Werbeck (BSU), 6-3, 6-4
Order of completion: 5, 6, 1, 4, 3, 2
Records: Boise State (20-5); Fresno State (15-7)
Players Mentioned
