Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Northwest Regional Championships
Champs! Gloria and Rowe Capture Regional Title
10/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Oct. 22, 2007
For the second time in three years, the Bulldogs have won the doubles title in the prestigious Northwest Regional Championships. Juniors Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe edged sophomore teammates Renata Kucerkova and Anastasia Petukhova 8-6 in the doubles final, Monday afternoon in Palo Alto, Calif.
It was an amazing feat for both Bulldog doubles tandems to reach the finals of a tournament filled with nationally-ranked teams. Gloria and Rowe, who are ranked No. 11 in the country, were the top-seeded duo in the tournament and proved to be the best in the region. Gloria and Rowe have now won eight straight and are 8-1 overall this season.
"I'm very pleased with how we played doubles this weekend," said head coach Simon Thibodeau. "To have two teams in the final of a very tough region is amazing. Tinesta and Melanie focused on executing the first two shots of each point and they controlled all of their matches, as well."
Gloria and Rowe were dominant throughout the weekend. They breezed all the way to the finals with wins of 8-2, 8-1, 8-2 and 8-2. Only 18th-ranked and fourth-seeded Kucerkova and Petukhova were any match for Gloria and Rowe.
But Kucerkova and Petukhova put together a great run as well. They beat Hoath and Poorta of Saint Mary's 8-5, downed Stanford's Deason and McVeigh 8-2, defeated Cal's Babos and Kusano 8-2 and beat Stanford's Barte and Ngueyn 8-5 in the semifinals on Monday. Kucerkova and Petukhova are now 10-4 overall this season.
"We showed we have the best doubles teams in the region," Gloria said. "All four of us really came to this tournament with the objective of getting to the finals. We played confident and aggressive the entire weekend."
Rowe, who upset No. 9 Celia Durkin of Stanford in the singles round of 32, felt confidence was the key.
"We played relaxed and executed very well," Rowe said. "Melanie and I are playing together and it is obviously paying off."
Gloria and Rowe are no strangers to pressure situations. Last season, the duo won 10-straight matches and eventually notched a key victory during the round of 16 in the NCAA team championships. Gloria and Rowe beat then-No. 3 McCray and Miller of Georgia Tech 8-6, while Kucerkova and Petukhova scored an 8-6 win over Craddock and Silverio to give Fresno State the doubles point.
The Regional Championships were an overall success for Fresno State. The Bulldogs advanced three to the singles quarterfinals, defeating players from nemesis Stanford in the process. Fresno State finished the tournament with a combined record of 28-10 in both singles and doubles competition.
ITA Northwest Regional Championships
Stanford, Calif.
Oct. 19-22
Doubles - Final
(1) No. 11 Gloria/Rowe (FS) def. (4) No. 18 Kucerkova/Petukhova (FS), 8-6
Doubles - Semifinals
(1) No. 11 Gloria/Rowe (FS) def (8) Cossou/Ilcinkas (CAL), 8-2
(4) No. 18 Kucerkova/Petukhova (FS) def. (6) Barte/Nguyen (STAN), 8-5
