Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Finish Season Ranked No. 14
6/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
June 4, 2007
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State women's tennis team finished an outstanding season as the No. 14 team in the country after the final rankings were released last week. It is one of the best finishes for the Bulldogs in program history. During one point in the 2001 season, Fresno State rose to a program-high No. 8 in the nation. At the conclusion of head coach Simon Thibodeau's first season with the Bulldogs in 2004, the team reached a program year-end high of No. 13.
Fresno State completed the 2007 season with a 22-4 record and its fourth trip to the NCAA Round of 16. The Bulldogs spent the entire season in the top-25 and won their sixth straight Western Athletic Conference Championship and seventh title overall. In the later part of the season, Fresno State won 13 consecutive matches, 11 of which came by way of shut out.
The Bulldogs hosted the first round and second rounds of the NCAA tournament, beating Army and Pepperdine each by the score of 4-0. The Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 in Athens, Ga. before falling to the eventual-national champion Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Head coach Simon Thibodeau was the WAC Coach of the Year for the third time and has led the Bulldogs to three sweet sixteen appearances in his four seasons at the helm.
Sophomore Melanie Gloria finished the season as the No. 4 ranked player in the country. She spent much of the season ranked No. 2 in the country, the highest ranking ever achieved by a Fresno State women's tennis player. Gloria reached the national final of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's All-American during the fall season and was a semifinalist in both the National Indoors and the Northwest Regional.
Gloria was the WAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, putting up outstanding numbers. She went 38-5 overall and 22-1 in dual matches. She reached the NCAA Round of 16 in the individual singles tournament and was also a NCAA doubles participant with Tinesta Rowe.
Gloria and Rowe finished the year ranked No. 30 in the country as a doubles tandem. They reached No. 26 at one point in the season after upsetting then-No. 7 Cetnik and Sydorska of TCU. During the NCAA team championships, Gloria and Rowe also knocked off No. 3 McCray and Miller of Georgia Tech after trailing 6-3. The duo then rallied to win five straight games and win the match 8-6.
Freshman Renata Kucerkova also had an outstanding season. She was the WAC Freshman of the Year and was dominant as Fresno State's No. 2 singles player. Kucerkova finished the season ranked No. 64 in the country, although she once rose to as high as No. 41. Kucerkova went 30-9 overall and 19-4 in dual matches and was an NCAA singles participant, as well.
Freshman Anastasia Petukhova earned a final ranking of No. 71. However, Petukhova was much better than her ranking might indicate after completely dominating this season. She won 15 matches in a row to end the season and played outstanding in the NCAA team tournament, winning all three of her singles matches in straight sets. Petukhova was a first-team All-WAC selection along with Gloria and Kucerkova.
Kucerkova and Petukhova were also dynamic as a doubles tandem this year. The duo finished the season ranked No. 37 after going 18-4 overall and 15-4 in dual matches. Kucerkova and Petukhova started the spring season with an 8-4 victory over then-No. 2 Babos and Fodor of Cal during the Winter Invitational in Berkeley, Calif. The duo finished the season with another awesome victory, an 8-6 defeat of then-No. 26 Craddock and Silverio of Georgia Tech during the NCAA team championships. Gloria, Kucerkova, Petukhova and Rowe were all named to the first team All-WAC in doubles.
The season was only made possible by an entire team effort. Junior Jacqueline Haskett finished the season strong by going 10-4 in dual matches. She won two singles matches during the WAC Championships and one during the NCAA tournament. Sophomore Danon Beatty was a second-team All-WAC honoree in singles after going 21-11 overall and 12-6 in dual matches.
Beatty and freshman Vanessa Heroux were also outstanding in doubles. At the No. 3 spot in the lineup the duo went 11-1 and 16-3 overall. In the NCAA second round, Beatty and Heroux were instrumental in helping the `Dogs clinch the doubles point against Pepperdine as they beat Braverman and Sabate 9-7 in a thrilling contest. Heroux went 20-14 overall and 9-6 in dual matches in singles. Sophomore Bruna Paes was 13-10 overall and 4-4 in dual matches.
Next season, the entire team returns as the Bulldogs hope to reach an even higher level among the elite of College Tennis.
