Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Host Pacific in Regular Season Finale
4/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 18, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. - Bulldogs Host Pacific in Regular Season Finale The Bulldogs will host Pacific in the regular season finale this Sunday, April 20th at 1 p.m. in the Wathen Tennis Center. The best part about the match is going to be an exhibition match inbetween the doubles and singles matches between Fresno State head coach Jay Udwadia and a special guest, come to the match to find out who! Fresno State owns a 14-8 record and is 18-0 all-time versus the Tigers. The `Dogs beat Pacific 6-1 in 2006, the last meeting between the two teams. Fresno State will also enter the match with an outstanding 12-1 record at home.
Recap of Road Matches The Bulldogs were on the road April 4 and 6 for two matches. On Friday, the `Dogs beat UC Santa Barbara 4-3. The Bulldogs won the doubles point and carried the momentum into singles winning three matches to ensure the win. On Sunday, Fresno State battled against 13th-ranked Pepperdine, but fell 5-2. The Bulldogs lost the doubles point, but were successful at winning two of the singles matches in triple sets. The `Dogs did not give up the doubles point easy. They put up a fight sending two of the matches into tie-breakers. Both the No. 1 and No. 2 spots were thrown into tiebreakers to decide the doubles point.
Taking on The Challenge With one match left, Fresno State is almost through the season, and has taken on many challenging teams and performed well against them all. The Bulldogs had a huge win against Boise State, beating them 4-2 at home. The Bulldogs also had big wins early on in the season against Nebraska 6-0, Nevada 7-0 and Hawaii 6-1. Later in the season, the `Dogs had big wins at home against Saint Mary's 6-1, DePaul 6-1 and UC Davis 7-0. The `Dogs now look to a challenging end of the season fighting for a spot in the WAC tournament and at the NCAA Championships.
Home Court Advantage Fresno State has one last home match and owns an excellent 12-1 mark playing on their home turf. Fresno State is also 4-0 against WAC opponents, all four wins coming at the Wathen Tennis Center. Fresno State has always been tough at home and has continued its streak with 12 wins at home.
Veerepalli Shines During Sophomore Season After the fall season, head coach Jay Udwadia said Veerepalli might be his most improved player. Veerepalli had a good fall season, going 10-4. The sophomore from India has carried his success into the spring season. He is currently 10-9 in dual matches. One of his greatest accomplishments was clinching the match against Boise State. In the match, Veerepalli had trailed 2-6, 1-3 to Boise State's Brent Werbeck, but kept fighting to tie the score at 3-3 when rain halted the match on Feb. 23. The match resumed on Feb. 24 and Veerepalli never let up. He ended up winning the second set 6-3 and then won 6-3 in the third to clinch Fresno State's 4-2 victory.
Zapletal Makes the Most at the Top of the Lineup This season, Zapletal stepped up his game a notch for the Bulldogs by playing at the No. 1 and 2 spots in singles. Zapletal is 4-3 in dual matches at the No. 1 spot and 9-4 in the No. 2 spot. Zapletal won three out of five matches against ranked players, including a huge win over No. 60 Clancy Shields of Boise State during Fresno State's 4-2 win over the Broncos. Zapletal dominated Shields, who was ranked as high as No. 19 this year, beating him 6-4, and 6-1 at the No. 2 spot in the lineup. Zapletal is currently 17-10 overall and 13-7 in dual matches.
