Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Cruise to Final Four
5/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 24, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. - The Bulldogs are making Fresno State history.
On Saturday both of Fresno State's doubles teams won their matches to advance two teams to the semifinals of the NCAA doubles championship, a first in the program's history. The last time any school had two teams in the NCAA Final Four was in 2005 when two teams from Stanford took up spots in the semis and then competed against themselves for the doubles crown.
One of the unsung teams coming into the doubles tournament, Renata Kucerkova and Anastasia Petukhova, upset No. 4 Ani Mijacika and Carol Salge of Clemson, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4. Second-ranked Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe easily downed Duke's Amanda Granson and Melissa Mang (Duke), 6-4, 6-4. Kucerkova and Petukhova will face the top-ranked team of Tracey Lin and Riza Zalameda from UCLA Saturday at 2 p.m. Gloria and Rowe will take on the No. 3 team of Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft from Notre Dame also at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Kucerkova and Petukhova took the court first, facing Clemson's Mijacika and Salge. The Bulldogs came out ready, handily winning the first set 6-2. In the second set, the two teams appeared more easily matched.
"We went into the match with the goal of fighting hard and winning. I think we started well. They caught up a little bit in the second set, so it was a battle," said Kucerkova.
The second set came down to a tie-break, the second for Fresno State in as many days. This time the Tigers came out on top, winning the set, 7-6, with a 7-3 tie-break.
"I think Clemson had a little bit of a slow start and played much better in the second," said head coach Simon Thibodeau. "It was tight. It was 7-6 in the sec¬ond and it could have gone either way."
In the third set, Fresno State found itself down 3-4 and facing elimination. But the Bulldogs didn't blink, breaking the serve and winning three straight games to win the third, 6-4, for the match.
"We took control at the end of the third set and we won and I think it was a really good match," said Kucerkova.
With one team safely advancing to the Final Four, Thibodeau turned to Gloria and Rowe's match against Duke.
Having faced one of the Blue Devils in doubles earlier in the season, Gloria and Rowe knew what they would be playing against.
"We knew what to expect from the Duke team," explained Thibodeau. "It was up to Melanie and Tinesta to play their game. We knew if we played our game we'd win and that's what they did."
The Bulldog duo certainly played their game, coming out on the offense. According to Thibodeau, the match moved along at a fast pace finishing within an hour because of short volleys and dominating serves from Fresno State. Before he knew it, the match was over 6-4, 6-4. "Today we went out there and we played really," said Rowe. "Our serves were good and we got our first serve returns in and we actually made them play a lot of balls today. We executed well and overall we did a good job."
Gloria agreed.
"We played very well," said Gloria. "We were aggressive, both at the net and at the back."
The Bulldogs are already focused on their next matches.
"I'm happy we won and that two Fresno State teams are in the semifinals, so that we can everybody that we are tough in doubles and you better watch out for us," said Petukhova. "We're just looking forward to tomorrow and with two more matches to go we're going to stay tough no matter what." Rowe said the idea of making history is exciting.
"We want to be there with both of us in the finals and make history," she said. "Two Fresno State teams in the final, what could be better than that? Both of us could be there just having fun, playing doubles. It's just all about getting through our match tomorrow and then we're both there. One day at a time."
Gloria may have said it best. "If we can both be in the finals, that would be awesome."
Results
#2 Melanie Gloria/Tinesta Rowe (Fresno St.) def. #5-8 Amanda Granson/Melissa Mang (Duke), 6-4, 6-4
Renata Kucerkova/Anastasia Petukhova (Fresno St.) def. #4 Ani Mijacika/Carol Salge (Clemson), 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-4
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