Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Hawai'i
Siwy Player of the Year; 'Dogs Fall in WAC Final
4/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 27, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. - In an eventful weekend at the Western Athletic Conference tournament, the Fresno State men's tennis team lost a heartbreaker to Hawai'i in the title match. The Bulldogs had won the doubles point, but Hawai'i rallied to win four singles matches to capture the conference crown, Sunday in Las Cruces, N.M.
Fresno State took an early 1-0 advantage after winning the doubles point. Junior Rudolf Siwy and sophomore Mirko Zapletal beat Heinemann and Weber at the No. 1 spot, 8-3. Freshman Siddharth Alapati and sophomore Tejesvi Veerepalli
Hawai'i rallied in singles, winning at the No. 1, No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6 spots. Freshman Denny Fafek beat Craig Faulk 6-4, 6-3 for Fresno State's only singles victory. Veerepalli and Andreas Weber were in the third set when the match was clinched.
The Bulldogs finish the season 17-9, while going 13-1 at home. The 'Dogs reached the WAC final for the third consecutive year and will graduate no seniors.
Siwy was named the WAC Player of the Year. Siwy was solid all season long, compiling a record of 26-9 overall and 19-5 in dual matches. Siwy also earned first-team All-WAC honors in both singles and doubles. Zapletal was named to the first-team in doubles and earned second-team honors in singles. Veerepalli was named to the second-team in singles.
NCAA Men's Tennis (WAC Final)
Las Cruces, N.M. (NMSU Tennis Center)
April 27, 2008
Hawai'i def. No. 49 Fresno State, 4-2
Doubles (Fresno State wins doubles point)
1) Siwy/Zapletal (FS) def. Heinemann/Weber (UH), 8-3
2) Fitch/Lajola (UH) def. Fafek/Leiby (FS), 8-4
3) Alapati/Veerepalli (FS) def. Faulk/Mendoza (UH), 8-4
Order of completion: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1) Dennis Lajola (UH) def. No. 83 Rudolf Siwy (FS), 7-6, 6-4
2) No. 108 Sascha Heinemann (UH) def. Mirko Zapletal (FS), 6-3, 6-3
3) Tejesvi Veerepalli (FS) v. Andreas Weber (UH), 7-6, 4-6, 1-2 DNF
4) Denny Fafek (FS) def. Craig Faulk (UH), 6-4, 6-3
5) * Spence Mendoza (UH) def. Martin Nilsson (FS) 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
6) Jeff Fitch (UH) def. Siddharth Alapati (FS), 6-1, 2-6, 6-2
Order of completion: 2, 4, 1, 6, 5*
* clinched match
Records: Fresno State (17-9); Hawai'i (8-10)
