Fresno State Athletics
On the Eighth Day of Christmas
12/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Dec. 21, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - On the eighth day of Christmas Timeout brought the Red Wave eight women's tennis WAC championships. In 2008-09, the Fresno State women's tennis team brought home their eighth consecutive Western Athletic Conference championship. The Bulldogs also made their fourth-straight trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2009.
In addition to the team success, Bulldog singles and doubles were recognized for their accomplishments on the court. Juniors Anastasia Petukhova and Renata Kucerkova collected the ITA National Doubles Team of the Year Award and senior Melanie Gloria was named the 2009 ITA Northwest Region Senior Player of the Year. The 'Dogs also excelled in the classroom with five players on the Academic All-WAC team, Petukhova and Gloria on the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District team and Gloria earning Academic All-American honors.
Juniors Petukhova and Kucerkova set the tone for the season early on by advancing to the finals of the prestigious ITA All-American Main Draw and about a month later winning an ITA National Indoor Championship.
The Bulldog pair continued their success into the Spring and on Feb. 19, 2009, they officially became the team to beat as the No. 1 ranked combo in the country.
Superior doubles play is a Bulldog tradition. In 2008, Fresno State had two doubles teams, Tinesta Rowe and Gloria along with Petukhova and Kucerkova, advance to the NCAA Doubles semifinals. Gloria and Rowe advanced to the National Doubles Championship to face UCLA's Tracy Lin and Riza Zalameda, who won the title.
After their performance at the NCAA Doubles Championship, Rowe and Gloria were the preseason No. 1 doubles team in the country. In February, when Petukhova and Kucerkova became the top-ranked pair in the country, it marked the first time since head coach Simon Thibodeau took over the program in 2003 that the Bulldogs had two separate doubles teams ranked No. 1 at different points in the season.
Gloria was named the WAC Player of the Year for the fourth time at the conference tournament in Honolulu, Hawai'i. Kucerkova and Petukhova joined her as First Team All-WAC singles players and Rowe was named to the Second Team. In doubles, Petukhova and Kucerkova and Gloria and Rowe were named First Team All-WAC. Thibodeau was named the WAC Coach of the Year for the fifth time during his tenure at Fresno State.
In the NCAA Doubles Tournament, Fresno State's top-ranked doubles team of Kucerkova and Petukhova earned All-American status for the second-straight year by advancing to the quarterfinals. The pair was also named the 2009 ITA Doubles Team of the Year.
Gloria was also recognized by the ITA as she was named the 2009 ITA Northwest Region Senior Player of the Year.
The four seniors on the 2008-09 squad, Gloria, Rowe, Bruna Paes and Danon Beatty, will be remembered not only for winning four-straight WAC titles, never losing dual meet to a conference opponent and playing in four NCAA Sweet 16, but also their commitment in the classroom and the community.
On the eighth day of Christmas Timeout brought the Red Wave eight women's tennis WAC championships, seven years of Joe Kearny Award winners, six years in the save Mart Center, five years of Cleveland, volleyball a fourth place finish, their best finish in five years, three-pointers from women's basketball, two national championships and the No. 1 women's tennis doubles team.
