Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
at ITA All-American
Siwy Wins, Advances to Main Draw at All-American
10/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Oct. 3, 2007
FRESNO, Calif. - Crossing two time zones and more than 1,500 miles to Tulsa, Okla., is what it took for Rudolf Siwy to be noticed. But after Wednesday, Siwy is officially on the map. The junior from Czech Republic stormed into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American main draw by beating No. 114 Reid Carleton of Duke in three sets during the final round of qualifying.
"Rudy came to the qualifying rounds with expectations to get into the main draw," said head coach Jay Udwadia. "He's just playing solid tennis and now he has the opportunity to battle some even better players and get some ranked wins. It's a great win for Rudy and for our program."
Siwy and Carleton each held serve through the first eight games of the opening set. Siwy then broke and held serve to close out the first frame 6-4. In the second set, Siwy held a 3-1 advantage and then a 5-2 advantage in the tiebreaker before losing 7-6 (6). Siwy was not deterred, however, winning the final set 6-4.
"He was very relaxed in the third set," Udwadia said. "Now, we're looking to do some damage in the main draw."
Siwy, who is unranked, has proven himself worthy of the All-American's main draw. Prior to defeating Carleton, Siwy beat New Mexico's Graeme Kassautzki and Mississippi's Jakob Klaeson.
"I feel very confident right now," Siwy said. "All the hard work is really paying off."
Siwy said conditioning and perseverance has prepared him for this tournament. Udwadia and the Bulldogs have always embraced a theme they call 'Blue Collar Tennis', which focuses on hard work and a no-excuses attitude. Endurance proved to be an important factor on Wednesday, as Siwy went the distance against Carleton for the victory.
The All-American is the first major championship of the college tennis season. It features a 64-player main draw for singles and a 32-team draw for doubles.
The first and second rounds of the main draw are scheduled for Thursday. Siwy faces No. 11 Oleksandr Nedovyesov of Oklahoma State at 8 a.m. CT (6 a.m. PT) in the first round.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" Bulldog fans can follow all of the All-American action right here on gobulldogs.com.
Players Mentioned
