Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
No. 66 Kansas State
`Dogs Knock-Off No. 66 Kansas State 5-2
2/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
By Josh Mitchell
jomitchell@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State avenged its only home loss under third-year head coach Ryan Stotland with a 5-2 win over No. 66 Kansas State on Friday afternoon at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center. The Bulldogs reversed the score from the dual match that occurred in Fresno on March 18, 2013.
"We knew we had to get it in before the rain came so we had to be prepared and the girls came out with great energy," Stotland said. "Doubles was really, really good to say the least, and in singles our top three came out and did a great job finishing. Our four, five and six all battled well and we had a shot to win at each spot. [Kansas State] was our only defeat at home in my three years and we wanted to defend our courts. The girls had a lot to prove and they really stepped up. It was very impressive."
Sofya Malysheva and Tanya Murtagh were the first to finish their doubles match, making quick work of Maria Panaite and Riley Nizzi, defeating them 6-1. Sisters Maiar and Rana Sherif Ahmed improved to 7-1 in doubles play, winning their fifth straight match together with a 6-1 victory over Iva Bago and Amina St. Hill in the No. 1 flight to clinch the doubles point.
In singles play, the sisters were back at it, quickly dispatching their opponents to put the Bulldogs within a point of the match. Maiar finished off Bago 6-1, 6-3 in the No. 2 flight shortly before Rana defeated Panaite 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3. No. 47-ranked Sophie Watts came back from a 5-2 deficit in the in the first set to win 7-5 before going on to claim the second set 6-3 to clinch the winning point for the 'Dogs. All three improved to 5-2 on the year with their wins.
The two teams played out the final three matches of the day, and after a pair of defeats for the Bulldogs, Anne Susdorf came from behind after dropping the first set 6-4. The senior claimed the second set 6-3, before ousting Nizzi 10-7 in the 10-point tiebreaker.
If the weather permits, Fresno State will host San Francisco this weekend with the time and date to be determined at a later time. If rain continues throughout the weekend and makes the match unplayable, the Bulldogs will be off until Feb. 13 when they travel to Stockton, Calif., to face Pacific at 10 a.m., PT.
Kansas State vs Fresno State
Feb 6, 2015 at Fresno, Calif.
(Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center)
Fresno State 5, #66 Kansas State 2
Singles competition
1. #47 Sophie Watts (FS) def. Palma Juhasz (KS) 7-5, 6-3
2. Maiar Sherif Ahmed (FS) def. Iva Bago (KS) 6-1, 6-3
3. Rana Sherif Ahmed (FS) def. Maria Panaite (KS) 6-2, 6-2
4. Livia Cirnu (KS) def. Anneka Watts (FS) 2-6, 6-3, 10-4
5. Amina St. Hill (KS) def. Tanya Murtagh (FS) 7-6 (5-0), 7-5
6. Anne Susdorf (FS) def. Riley Nizzi (KS) 4-6, 6-3, 10-7
Doubles competition
1. Maiar Sherif Ahmed/Rana Sherif Ahmed (FS) def. Iva Bago/Amina St. Hill (KS) 6-1
2. Anneka Watts/Sophie Watts (FS) vs. Palma Juhasz/Livia Cirnu (KS) unfinished
3. Sofya Malysheva/Tanya Murtagh (FS) def. Maria Panaite/Riley Nizzi (KS) 6-1
Match Notes:
Kansas State 2-4; National ranking #66
Fresno State 3-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1^); Singles (2,3,1^,5,4,6)
Players Mentioned
