Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Boise State
No. 19 Bulldogs Capture Seventh-Straight WAC Crown
4/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 26, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. - Chalk up another Western Athletic Conference championship for the Fresno State women's tennis program. The 19th-ranked Bulldogs captured their seventh-straight conference crown on Saturday, defeating Boise State 4-1 and beating the Broncos for the third-straight time in the title match. Fresno State now automatically qualifies for the NCAA tournament and will discover its fate on Tuesday, April 30.
"We're defintely very happy and pleased with another championship," said head coach Simon Thibodeau. "Give credit to Boise State, they played us tough. But we're excited to move on now to the NCAA tournament."
Fresno State tallied a number of other milestones on Saturday. Along with its current conference title streak, the 'Dogs have wone 33 straight matches over WAC opponents. Thibodeau won his 100th career match and was awarded his fourth Coach of the Year honor.
"Time really passes quickly," Thibodeau said. "It's amazing that five years have already gone by and I think it's a credit to the players that I've coached. But, what I'm most proud of is our NCAA tournament wins."
The Bulldogs have now reached the NCAA tournament in 13 consecutive seasons, dating back to 1996. It was the eighth WAC title overall for Fresno State, which has won the last seven on courts not named the Wathen Tennis Center. Fresno State beat SMU in Tulsa in 2002; Tulsa in Boise in '03; SMU in Houston in '04; Rice in Honolulu in '05; Boise State in Boise in '06; Boise State in Boise in '07; and Boise State in Las Cruces in '08.
The 'Dogs won the doubles point with easy victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. Sophomores Renata Kucerkova and Anastasia Petukhova were dominating, just as they have been all season, with an 8-1 victory over Baum and Mackova. Third-ranked juniors Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe were solid as they clinched the point with an 8-4 defeat of Kokoulina and Thongdack.
In singles, Petukhova breezed past Polina Kokoulina at the No. 2 spot and was first to finish for the 'Dogs. Petukhova won her 39th overall match of the year while improving to 24-3 in dual matches. Kucerkova, last year's WAC Freshman of the Year, quickly followed with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Bianca Jochimsen at the No. 3 spot.
But with a 3-0 Fresno State advantage, the remaining four matches went into third sets. Gloria and junior Danon Beatty lost first sets, but rallied to win second sets. Rowe and senior Jacqueline Haskett had won first sets, but Boise State's Klaudia Wlodarczyk and Stacey Housley pushed the matches on courts No. 4 and No. 5 into third sets, respectively.
Rowe, who has already won a number of big matches in her career, again pulled out a three-set victory. She topped Wlodarczyk 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to deliver the WAC title.
"We're all very proud to be WAC Champions again" Rowe said. "The team really fought hard and we just tried to execute and hit good balls."
Gloria was named the WAC Player of the Year for the third-straight season. Gloria, Petukhova and Kucerkova were named first-team All-WAC performers, while Rowe earned second-team honors. Gloria and Rowe, as well as Kucerkova and Petukhova, were named to the first-team All-WAC in doubles.
NCAA Women's Tennis (WAC Tournament - Final)
Las Cruces, N.M.
April 26, 2008
No. 19 Fresno State def. No. 40 Boise State, 4-1
Doubles (Fresno State wins doubles point)
1) No. 3 Gloria/Rowe (FS) def. No. 54 Kokoulina/Thongdack (BS), 8-4
2) No. 31 Kucerkova/Petukhova (FS) def. Baum/Mackova (BS), 8-1
3) Beatty/Haskett (FS) v. Jochimsen/Wlodarczyk (BS), 3-4 DNF
Order of completion: 2, 1
Singles
1) No. 16 Melanie Gloria (FS) v. Pichittra Thongdack (BS), 5-7, 6-4, 3-3 DNF
2) No. 22 Anastasia Petukhova (FS) def. Polina Kokoulina (BS), 6-1, 6-0
3) Renata Kucerkova (FS) def. Bianca Jochimsen (BS), 6-4, 6-2
4) * Tinesta Rowe (FS) def. Klaudia Wlodarczyk (BS), 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
5) Jacqueline Haskett (FS) v. Stacey Housley (BS), 6-2, 6-7, 3-4 DNF
6) Laura Baum (BS) def. Danon Beatty (FS), 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
Order of completion: 2, 3, 6
* clinched match
Records: Fresno State (19-7); Boise State (19-5)
Players Mentioned
