Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State a National Competitor in 2009-10
7/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
July 15, 2010
FRESNO, Calif.- - The Bulldog men's tennis team reached their highest levels in 2009-10 since head coach Jay Udwadia took over the program in 2004, with a WAC regular season title, a trip to the ITA National Team Indoors Sweet 16, an NCAA Tournament victory and another WAC Championship match appearance.
Fresno State put another WAC trophy in the case, as they went 4-1 in WAC play and were named WAC regular season co-champions with Hawai'i.
The 'Dogs started out the season ranked No. 46, but climbed the ITA rankings as high as No. 22 and finished the season ranked 27th.
Defeating 11 ranked opponents on the season helped improve the Fresno State's ranking, but the biggest boost came after the 4-3 upset over No. 12 Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, for the first qualifying round of the ITA National Indoor Championships.
"We had a great year this year," Udwadia said. "We accomplished a lot of good things from being ranked as high as No. 22 to winning the WAC regular season championship to advancing to the Sweet 16 of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. We are looking forward to building upon the success we had this year."
The 'Dogs were ranked 46th at the time and considered huge underdogs going into one of the most hostile environments in college tennis.
Fresno State won two out of three doubles matches to win the doubles point, but the Aggies responded by winning three of the first four singles matches and took a 3-2 lead. In the remaining two matches, the Aggies won the first set, but the Bulldogs' Rikus de Villiers and David Ayoun each forced a third set to keep the hopes alive.
Both de Villiers and Ayoun came out rejuvenated and won their final sets to give the Bulldogs the 4-3 victory. Texas A&M did not fall off after the loss and even found its way back into the Top 10, as it ended the season ranked No. 10.
The day after the victory over the Aggies, an inspired Bulldog squad came out and defeated No. 34 Rice, 4-0, to earn a spot in the ITA National Team Indoors Sweet 16.
The Bulldogs were led by excellent doubles play in 2009-10 and had two ranked doubles teams at one point in the season.
Both doubles tandems of seniors Taylor Leiby and Mirko Zapletal and junior de Villiers and sophomore Remi Boutillier enjoyed an excellent start to season with strong fall performances.
In the fall tournament portion of the season, Boutillier and de Villiers went 7-0 together and began the spring season ranked No. 36.
Leiby and Zapletal were paired together for the first time in 2009-10 and forged an instant connection, as they went 8-1 in the fall, including an appearance in the Northwest Regional Doubles Championship match against Stanford's Bradley Klahn and Ryan Thacher.
Leiby and Zapletal were ranked No. 20 in the initial ITA Doubles Rankings, giving the Bulldogs two ranked doubles teams to start the spring.
"Our seniors led by example this year and set a solid foundation for our team for next season," Udwadia said. "They were truly leaders on the court and in the classroom and I appreciate their hard work."
Two Fresno State singles also spent time in the ITA Tennis Rankings, during the course of the spring. David Ayoun began the spring ranked No. 83 in the nation and later in the spring senior Tejesvi Veerepalli climbed as high as No. 110.
Veerepalli entered another group of elite company in 2009-10, as he entered the Fresno State career wins list. He began the season with 55 career victories and added 21 victories to that total. His 76 career wins ranks him 15th in school history.
He was also named the 2010 ITA Northwest Region Senior Player of the Year for his performance in 2009-10.
The Bulldogs recorded some impressive victories against non-conference opponents, particularly the Mountain West Conference. Fresno State knocked off New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV and No. 58 TCU in the regular season, then was pitted against No. 34 BYU in the first round of the NCAA Team Championships. The 'Dogs knocked off the Cougars, 4-2, and eliminated them from the tournament, to extend the perfect record to 5-0 against the MWC.
Other crucial non-conference victories not mentioned above included No. 54 Oklahoma State and No. 59 San Diego.
The 'Dogs earned the No. 2 seed for the WAC Championships and opened the tournament with a 4-2 victory over No. 42 Boise State in the semifinals. Powered by an overwhelming serve, Zapletal clinched the match with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over the 2010 WAC Player of the Year and 47th-ranked James Meredith.
The win earned Fresno State its four appearance in the WAC championship match in five years.
In the championship, the 'Dogs met the top-seed Hawai'i. The Warriors won the doubles point, but Fresno State responded by winning the first three singles matches, to take a 3-1 team lead. Hawai'i battled back to win the next two matches and tie the score at 3-3.
In the deciding match on Court 3, Hawai'i's Leo Rosenberg won the first set 6-3, but Veerepalli won the second 6-4. Veerepalli appeared poised to win the Bulldogs' first WAC Tournament title, as he led 4-1 in the final set, but he suffered an injury at that point. Veerepalli finished the match, but wasn't able to play with the same effectiveness, as Rosenberg came away with a 6-4 victory in the third set and Hawai'i won the WAC Tournament.
Because of the Bulldogs' regular season wins, Fresno State received an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament. The 'Dogs were paired against No. 34 BYU for the first round, and secured a 4-2 victory for Fresno State's first NCAA Tournament win since 2003. In the second round, the Bulldogs face the defending national champion and No. 5 USC, with the Trojans coming away with a 4-1 victory. USC went on the win the 2009-10 NCAA Championship.
"I am proud of the team," Udwadia said. "They worked hard all year and was rewarded for their hard work by the accolades we received as a team. I am looking forward to building upon our success next season."
Fresno State also had an excellent year in the classroom, something the Bulldog coach is extremely pleased with.
"We had an excellent year in the classroom," Udwadia said. "That is evident by our team GPA of 3.62 in the fall and 3.63 in the spring. Mirko (Zapletal) and Tejesvi (Veerepalli) graduating with honors in the Business school shows we have a program with student-athletes who take academics seriously."
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