Fresno State Athletics
Four-Match Week for 'Dogs
3/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 10, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - The Bulldog women's tennis team will have another opportunity to establish dominance at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center this week when they host four teams from March 11-15.
Fresno State first squares off against Penn on Wednesday at 5 p.m., then face No. 21 TCU on Thursday at 5 p.m.. The Pac-10's 59th-ranked Arizona visits Wathen on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and then the Bulldogs finish the week off against No. 34 Sacramento State on Sunday at 11 a.m.
The Bulldogs are 4-4 overall, 2-0 at home and ranked 37th in the latest ITA Tennis Rankings. In the Dogs' two home matches this year, they shutout both Pacific and Saint Mary's 7-0.
Penn is 1-6 on the year and is looking for its first win since its Feb. 20, 7-0 win against George Washington. The Bulldogs have won all three meetings between the schools, who haven't faced each other since 2003.
The Horned Frogs are 5-6 and feature the No. 9 singles player in the country, junior Nina Munch-Soegaard. No. 89 Macall Harkins also joins Munch-Soegaard in the Top 100. TCU also has two doubles teams ranked in No. 21 Anna Sydorska and Harkins and No. 56 Maria Babanova and Munch-Soegaard.
The 'Dogs are 5-3 all time against TCU, and the last two matches have been exceptionally competitive with the Bulldogs winning 4-3 in 2007 and most recently on March 3, 2008.
Arizona is another team that shares a competitive history with the Bulldogs. In four matches, Fresno State holds a 3-1 edge, but every match has ended in a 4-3 score.
This year is likely to be another epic in the rivalry. The Wildcats are 6-4 and Natasha Marks is ranked 125th in singles for Arizona and Danielle Steinberg and Sarah Landsman are the No. 66 doubles team in the country.
The Hornets are also putting together a respectable season at 8-4. They recently ended a four-match losing streak by beating Montana State 7-0. Sacramento State is led by No. 69 Katrina Zheltova.
This is the first match between the squads since 2007, a 5-2 Bulldog win. Fresno State is 7-2 in the rivalry and has won the last three matches.
Three Bulldogs will likely climb the Fresno State history books this week. Senior Melanie Gloria is one win away from sharing second place with Katharina Winterhalter (2002-06) on the school career wins list with 105 victories. Junior Anastasia Petukhova is ninth place and needs one win to tie Lucia Tallo (2001-05) for eighth place with 78. Junior Renata Kucerkova needs just two wins to tie Amy Gallagher (1991-95) for 10th place with 74 victories.
The Bulldogs will travel to Berkley, Calif., to play California on March 21. Fresno State's next return to the Wathen Tennis Center on April 11 for its WAC home opener, a tripleheader against Louisiana Tech, Utah State and New Mexico State.
"Join the State - Fresno State" -- The Bulldogs return to the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center on April 11 for their WAC home opener, a tripleheader against Louisiana Tech, Utah State and New Mexico State. Follow the 'Dogs throughout the season on www.gobulldogs.com.
