Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
UNLV Rebel Classic
No. 18 Bulldogs Beat Florida International, 5-2
2/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 23, 2007
LAS VEGAS - Freshman Renata Kucerkova won in straight sets to clinch No. 18 Fresno State's 5-2 defeat of No. 31 Florida International, Friday afternoon in Las Vegas. The `Dogs won the doubles point and never looked back, improving their record to 4-2 on the season.
"It was a good win over a very good Florida International team," said head coach Simon Thibodeau. "We played much better in doubles today as well and we need to be prepared for a tough UNLV team tomorrow."
Sophomore Melanie Gloria, who earned the highest ranking ever for a Fresno State women's tennis player earlier this week, was dominant as usual. As the No. 2 player in the country, she beat Marijana Cutuk 6-0, 6-4, improving her record to 18-4 overall and 4-1 in dual matches.
The Bulldogs took an early 1-0 lead after winning the doubles point. Fresno State has used a number of doubles combinations this season and Friday the team performed well. Freshmen Vanessa Heroux and Anastasia Petukhova were the first to win, defeating Cutuk and Fountain 8-3 at the No. 2 spot. Sophomore Danon Beatty and Kucerkova followed with an 8-5 victory at the No. 3 spot to clinch the doubles point. Despite losing at the No. 1 spot, Gloria and sophomore Tinesta Rowe played to the tiebreaker before falling 8-7 (2).
Petukhova gave the `Dogs a 2-0 lead with her straight set defeat of Maria Pazo at the No. 4 spot in singles. Beatty increased the lead as she defeated Maria Vallasciani 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 6 slot just before Kucerkova clinched the match.
It was a solid win for Fresno State against Florida International, which had entered the match with a No. 31 ranking and a 4-1 record. The Bulldogs have now won their third match on the road.
On Saturday, the `Dogs will battle No. 39 UNLV at 10 a.m. in Las Vegas.
NCAA Women's Tennis
Feb. 23, 2007
Las Vegas
No. 18 Fresno State def. No. 31 Florida International, 5-2
Doubles (Fresno State wins doubles point)
1) Castillo/Petrauskaite (FIU) def. Gloria/Rowe (FS), 8-7 (2)
2) Heroux/Petukhova (FS) def. Cutuk/Fountain (FIU), 8-3
3) Beatty/Kucerkova (FS) def. D'Armas/Pazo (FIU), 8-5
Order of completion: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1) No. 2 Melanie Gloria (FS) def. Marijana Cutuk (FIU), 6-0, 6-4
2) No. 92 Renata Kucerkova (FS) def. Egle Petrauskaite (FIU), 6-2, 6-3
3) Shilla D'Armas (FIU) def. Tinesta Rowe (FS), 6-2, 6-2
4) No. 70 Anastasia Petukhova (FS) def. Maria Pazo (FIU), 6-2, 6-2
5) Priscilla Castillo (FIU) def. Vanessa Heroux (FS), 6-2, 6-4
6) Danon Beatty (FS) def. Maria Vallasciani (FIU), 6-0, 6-1
Order of completion: 4, 6, 2, 1, 3, 5
Records: Fresno State (4-2); Florida International (4-2)
Players Mentioned
