Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Diego
Bulldogs Win Fifth Straight, Down San Diego 5-2
4/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 5, 2007
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State men's tennis team won its fifth straight on Thursday afternoon, defeating the San Diego Toreros 5-2 at the Wathen Tennis Center. The Bulldogs won the doubles point and four of six in singles to get the victory. Sophomore Rudolf Siwy clinched the match with a straight set victory over Chris Coetzee at the No. 2 spot, helping the Bulldogs improve to 9-7 on the season.
"I thought this was about as well as we've played all year," said head coach Jay Udwadia. "We knew that San Diego was a very tough team coming in, and we fought for every point. The main thing is we're really starting to come together as a team right now."
Siwy and freshman Taylor Leiby got the Bulldogs off to a great start in doubles. The duo trailed 1-0 and then went on to win eight straight games for the 8-1 victory. The Bulldogs clinched the doubles point on court No. 2 as senior Charles Irie and freshman Tejesvi Veerepalli beat Levon Brown and Jonas Mouly 8-5.
In singles, freshman Mirko Zapletal won his team-best 12th victory in dual matches, defeating Mouly 6-4, 6-3. Zapletal improved to 16-9 overall and 12-5 in dual matches.
Senior Jakub Cech has been hot lately, having won four straight and five of his last six. He beat 49th-ranked Thomas Liversage in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
Irie was the last to finish for the Bulldogs as he mounted a come-from-behind win in the super-tiebreaker. Irie lost the first set 7-5, but won 6-3 in the second to force the tiebreaker set. Irie trailed 5-0 to Ryo Sekiguchi in the tiebreaker, but rallied and eventually won 10-8. Irie won his team-best 19th overall victory of the season and improved to 11-5 in dual matches.
"We've been getting a little stronger with each match," Udwadia said. "Jakub, Rudy and Mirko played very well today and they've got even better tennis left in them."
The Bulldogs host Santa Barbara in their final home match of the year on Saturday at noon. It will also be Senior Day on Saturday as the Bulldogs honor Cech and Irie for their outstanding careers at Fresno State.
NCAA Men's Tennis
April 5, 2007
Wathen Tennis Center - Fresno, Calif.
No. 66 Fresno State def. No. 62 San Diego, 5-2
Doubles (Fresno State wins doubles point)
1) Coetzee/Liversage (SD) def. Cech/Zapletal (FS), 8-4
2) Irie/Veerepalli (FS) def. Brown/Mouly (SD), 8-5
3) Leiby/Siwy (FS) def. Ozurovich/Wolmarans (SD), 8-1
Order of completion: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1) No. 70 Jakub Cech (FS) def. No. 49 Thomas Liversage (SD), 6-3, 6-2
2) Rudolf Siwy (FS) def. Chris Coetzee (SD), 6-3, 6-3
3) Mirko Zapletal (SD) def. Jonas Mouly (SD), 6-4, 6-2
4) Charles Irie (FS) def. Ryo Sekiguchi (SD) 5-7, 6-3, (10-8)
5) Charl Wolmarans (SD) def. Tejesvi Veerepalli (FS), 6-3, 6-4
6) Matt Ozurovich (SD) def. Flavio Mollinedo (FS), 6-1, 7-6 (4)
Order of completion: 3, 1, 2, 6, 5, 4
Records: Fresno State (9-7); San Diego (9-9)
