Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Pepperdine
No. 24 Bulldogs Bounce Back, Take Down No. 13 Pepperdine
2/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 10, 2007
MALIBU, Calif. - After losing the doubles point for the second straight day, the 24th-ranked Fresno State women's tennis team decided it was time to make a statement in singles. Trailing 1-0, the Bulldogs nearly swept 13th-ranked Pepperdine in singles, winning five of six matches and capturing a 5-2 victory, Saturday in Malibu.
"The team reacted very well after losing the doubles point," head coach Simon Thibodeau said. "They came out with a lot of energy in singles and everyone was more efficient."
Sophomore Melanie Gloria, ranked fourth in the nation, took care of No. 22 Bianca Dulgheru quickly, winning 6-2, 6-2. Gloria improved to 3-1 in dual matches with the victory.
Freshman Renata Kucerkova fell behind early after losing the first set. But Kucerkova rallied to win the second-set tiebreaker and breezed to a 6-1 third set win.
Freshman Vanessa Heroux also won in three sets, picking up a much needed win at the No. 4 spot in the lineup. Sophomore Danon Beatty showed resiliency as well, winning in three sets.
Sophomore Tinesta Rowe, playing for the second time at the No. 3 spot, won in the supertiebreaker.
"We came out focused in singles," Rowe said. "We didn't let our doubles performance affect us and we did what we had to do to get the win."
The Bulldogs improved to 3-2 on the year, while Pepperdine fell to 4-3. The Bulldogs will take a short break before heading to the UNLV tournament Feb. 23-26.
NCAA Women's Tennis
Feb. 10, 2007
Malibu, Calif.
No. 24 Fresno State def. No. 13 Pepperdine, 5-2
Doubles (Pepperdine wins doubles point)
1) Dickes/Kosakowski (PEP) def. Kucerkova/Petukhova (FS), 8-5
2) Dulgheru/Sabate (PEP) def. Heroux/Rowe (FS), 8-0
3) Gloria/Beatty (FS) def. Bandere/Braverman (PEP), 8-6
Order of completion: N/A
Singles
1) No. 4 Melanie Gloria (FS) def. No. 22 Bianca Dulgheru (PEP), 6-2, 6-2
2) No. 49 Renata Kucerkova (FS) def. Sylvia Kosakowski (PEP), 3-6, 7-6, 6-1
3) No. 92 Tinesta Rowe (FS) def. Katia Sabate (PEP), 7-5, 4-6, (10-5)
4) Vanessa Heroux (FS) def. Eva Dickes (PEP), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1
5) Danon Beatty (FS) def. Anete Bandere (PEP), 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
6) Tania Rice (PEP) def. Bruna Paes (FS), 6-2, 6-1
Order of completion: N/A
Records: Fresno State (3-2); Pepperdine (4-3)
Players Mentioned
