Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Display Continued Success in 2015
7/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
FRESNO, Calif. - For the third consecutive year since joining the Mountain West Conference, the Fresno State women's tennis team finished as the highest ranked squad in the league by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) at the end of the season. The Bulldogs concluded the year ranked No. 58.
The 'Dogs also came in at No. 4 in the Northwest Region, behind only Cal, Stanford and Saint Mary's. The spot placed them ahead of Oregon, Washington and Washington State from the Pac-12.
Also in the region, Sophie Watts, who finished the year ranked No. 75 nationally in singles, was the highest-ranked player outside of the Pac-12 as she finished at No. 9. Freshman Maiar Sherif Ahmed joined Watts as two of only five players outside the Pac-12 to be ranked in the region's Top 20. Alongside older sister Rana, the duo was ranked No. 10 in doubles. The two also came in at No. 85 nationally in doubles at the end of the season.
For Watts, the junior became just the tenth athlete in the program's history to earn a berth in the NCAA Singles Championship. With a three-set win over No. 36-ranked Romy Kölzer in the first round, Watts became the first Bulldog since 2009 advance beyond the opening round of the tournament. Despite entering the individual tournament with a ranking of 85, Watts earned a career-high ranking of 31 early in the season while in the midst of a 23-match singles winning streak that spanned more than four months.
Led by the junior's 57 combined wins on the year, the 'Dogs reached its highest national ranking since Feb. 4, 2010 when they came in at No. 33. On the year, Fresno State produced its most wins (18) since the 2009 season, winning 15 of 16 matches during a stretch that spanned from Jan. 31 through April 3 while defeating six nationally-ranked opponents. With dominant showings in conference play, Sophie Watts earned Mountain West Player of the Year and Maiar Sherif Ahmed nabbed Freshman of the Year, just the second Bulldog pair to sweep conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors.
Despite losing three seniors who helped contribute to 34 wins and a Mountain West Championship during the past two seasons, the Bulldogs will return five players next season that earned a combined nine post-season conference honors in 2015. Joining them will be last year's Big Sky Player of the Year in Galina Bykova and a pair from England in Emma Wilson and Olivia Noble. In February, Wilson earned the No. 1 ranking in Great Britain at the under-18 level.
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