Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Colorado
No. 13 Bulldogs Win 10th Straight, Beat No. 20 Colorado 6-1
3/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 26, 2007
FRESNO, Calif. - The 13th-ranked Fresno State women's team was once again dominant at the Wathen Tennis Center on Monday afternoon, beating No. 20 Colorado in convincing fashion, 6-1. It was Fresno State's 10th straight win and the third over a top-25 opponent. The Bulldogs won all three doubles matches and five of six in singles, improving to 12-2 overall on the season.
"We came out very strong in doubles and executed well," said head coach Simon Thibodeau. "This was a very good Colorado team that had wins over William and Mary and Baylor. And I was pleased to see Tinesta get a win against a tough opponent at the No. 4 spot in singles."
Sophomore Tinesta Rowe finished off Fresno State's win with a 7-5, 3-6, (10-7) victory over Franziska Jendrian. Rowe trailed 5-2 in the super-tiebreaker, but rallied for seven straight points to take a 9-5 lead and eventually won 10-7.
Fresno State set the tone in doubles, winning all three matches by wide margins. The Bulldogs trailed 2-0 on both courts two and three. However, sophomore Danon Beatty and freshman Vanessa Heroux took control and won 8-3 at the No. 3 spot. Freshmen Renata Kucerkova and Anastasia Petukhova also were down early, but quickly gained momentum for an 8-4 victory at No. 2. On court No. 1, sophomore Melanie Gloria and Rowe clinched the point, beating Belassi and Torres-Torres, 8-3. Gloria and Rowe have won six consecutive at the No. 1 spot in doubles.
Beatty continued the comeback trend at the No. 6 spot in singles. After winning the first set 6-2, Beatty trailed Colorado's Melisa Esposito 4-1 in the second. But Beatty rallied to win five consecutive games for a 6-2, 6-4 victory.
Petukhova was the first to finish in singles, beating Veera Nurmi 6-0, 6-0 in approximately 40 minutes. Kucerkova quickly followed with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Camila Belassi and Gloria clinched the match when she defeated Monica Milewski 6-3, 6-1.
Kucerkova has been on a tear lately, winning nine of her last 10 singles matches. She improved to 22-7 overall and 11-3 in dual matches. Gloria has won her last 10, improving to 26-4 overall and 12-1 in dual play.
The Bulldogs are back in action on Saturday against UC Irvine at noon in the Wathen Tennis Center. As a note to media and fans, Fresno State's match against Harvard has been cancelled. Fresno State also hosts Sacramento State this weekend when the Hornets come to Fresno for a noon match on Sunday.
NCAA Women's Tennis
Wathen Tennis Center ~ Fresno, Calif.
March 26, 2007
No. 13 Fresno State def. No. 20 Colorado, 6-1
Doubles (Fresno State wins doubles point)
1) No. 41 Gloria/Rowe (FS) def. Belassi/Torres Torres (CU), 8-3
2) No. 50 Kucerkova/Petukhova (FS) def. Jendrian/Milewski (CU), 8-4
3) Beatty/Heroux (FS) def. No. 55 Esposito/Sedivec (CU), 8-3
Order of completion: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1) No. 3 Melanie Gloria (FS) def. No. 35 Monica Milewski (CU), 6-3, 6-1
2) No. 71 Renata Kucerkova (FS) def. Camila Belassi (CU), 6-1, 6-1
3) No. 70 Anastasia Petukhova (FS) def. Veera Nurmi (CU), 6-0, 6-0
4) Tinesta Rowe (FS) def. Franziska Jendrian (CU), 7-5, 2-6, (10-7)
5) Gleisy Torres Torres (CU) def. Vanessa Heroux (FS), 6-3, 6-3
6) Danon Beatty (FS) def. Melisa Esposito (CU), 6-2, 6-4
Order of completion: 3, 2, 1, 5, 6, 4
Records: Fresno State (12-2); Colorado (10-6)
Players Mentioned
