Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Boise State
Bulldogs Pull Thrilling Upset of Boise State, 4-2
2/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 24, 2008
By Curtis Webb
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - Not even the weather could stop the Fresno State men's tennis team this weekend.
Sophomore Tejesvi Veerepalli capped-off an incredible two days with a three-set victory over Boise State's Brent Werbeck, clinching Fresno State's thrilling 4-2 upset of the No. 28 Broncos, Sunday morning at the Wathen Tennis Center.
"I'm so proud of our guys," said head coach Jay Udwadia. "They stuck with it and performed to their abilities. It was definitely a seesaw battle. Boise State is a very good team and we have tremendous respect for the Broncos. Today was a great win for our program, for the players who have gone before us and for our fans."
On Friday the Bulldogs were scheduled to face Nebraska, but rain pushed the match to Saturday. The Bulldogs then proceeded to sweep the Huskers 6-0 and with the potential of rain again on Sunday, Fresno State and Boise State agreed to begin their match on Saturday, a day earlier than scheduled.
"We had to make a quick decision and thought we might be able to get another match in," Udwadia said. "It was a good opportunity to take on a highly-ranked opponent and our conference rival, so we gave it a go."
Unfortunately, rain began to fall as all six singles matches were in second sets. The Bulldogs were up a set in three matches, and the Broncos were up a set in the other three.
On Sunday, the weather permitted the Bulldogs to make their move. Fresno State had lost to Boise State in the previous four meetings, and Udwadia had never beaten the Broncos during his tenure at Fresno State.
But while the wind swirled and dark clouds shadowed the Wathen Tennis Center on Sunday, the Bulldogs shined.
Freshman Martin Nilsson beat Eric Roberson at the No. 6 spot and sophomore Mirko Zapletal followed with an impressive straight-set victory over No. 60 Clancy Shields at the No. 2 spot to give Fresno State a 2-1 lead. Boise State tied the match at 2-2 when Luke Shields downed junior Rudolf Siwy on court No. 1.
Freshman Denny Fafek was in a dog fight with Piotr Dilaj on court No. 4. Neither had broken the other's serve, but with the score tied 5-5 in the second set - and Fafek up a set - the freshman from Mountain View, Calif., broke and then served to win 7-6 (5), 7-5. Also of note was that Fafek trailed 5-1 in the tiebreaker of the first set and rallied off six consecutive points to capture the first frame.
Veerepalli, who had lost the first set against Werbeck, relished in the opportunity to decide the match and deliver one of the biggest victories for Fresno State in recent years.
"On Saturday, I knew it was going to rain, so I just had to hang in there and keep it close," Veerepalli said. "Today, I told myself I was just as good of a player as he was and I started to gain some confidence. I admit I felt the pressure too, but I embraced it. This is a great win for our team."
Veerepalli had trailed 2-6, 1-3 on Saturday but kept fighting to tie the score at 3-3 when rain halted the match. On Sunday, Veerepalli won three straight games in the second set to split, then broke early in the third set to take a 3-2 lead and broke again to take a 5-2 lead before finishing out the match.
The Bulldogs won their sixth-straight match following the victory and improved to 8-2 overall.
Now Fresno State turns its focus to another big match this week at San Diego State. The match was originally scheduled for Feb. 3 and postponed due to weather. Now the 'Dogs will have another opportunity at a high-ranked opponent. The match is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. in San Diego.
NCAA Men's Tennis
Wathen Tennis Center (Fresno, Calif.)
Feb. 24, 2008
No. 71 Fresno State def. No. 28 Boise State, 4-2
Singles
1) No. 64 Luke Shields (BS) def. Rudolf Siwy (FS), 7-5, 6-2
2) Mirko Zapletal (FS) def. No. 60 Clancy Shields (BS), 6-4, 6-1
3) * Tejesvi Veerepalli (FS) def. Brent Werbeck (BS), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
4) Denny Fafek (FS) def. Piotr Dilaj (BS), 7-6 (5), 7-5
5) Steve Robertson (BS) def. Siddharth Alapati (FS), 6-0, 6-1
6) Martin Nilsson (FS) def. Eric Roberson (BS), 6-2, 7-6 (6)
Order of completion: 5, 6, 2, 1, 4, 3*
* clinched match
Doubles (Doubles was not played)
1) Veerepalli/Zapletal (FS) v. Shields/Shields (BS), DNP
2) Alapati/Fafek (FS) v. Koenke/Roberson (BS), DNP
3) Leiby/Siwy (FS) v. Boswell/Robertson (BS), DNP
Order of completion: N/A
Records: Fresno State (8-2), Boise State (6-8)
Players Mentioned
