Fresno State Athletics
No. 28 Bulldogs travel to No. 13 Stanford
2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
By Josh Mitchell
jomitchell@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - The No. 28 Fresno State women's tennis will face its sixth top 35 team of the season on Friday as the squad takes on No. 13 Stanford at Taube Family Tennis Stadium at noon.
Match Info
Match #9 • Feb. 18, 2016
#28 Fresno State (5-3) at #13 Stanford (3-2)
12 p.m. PT • Fresno, Calif.
Live Video: streaming.com
Series Record: Bulldogs lead 19-4/Bulldogs lead 9-0
Last Meeting: Fresno State won 5-2/7-0 in 2015
Bulldog Aces
• Fresno State will be seeking its first-ever win against 17-time national champion Stanford.
• The Cardinal will be the Bulldogs' sixth nationally ranked opponent this season, all which have been in the ITA's top 35.
• Fresno State opened the season with five straight matches against teams ranked in the top 35 of the ITA rankings, posting a 2-3 record.
• The Bulldogs are ranked No. 28 in the latest ITA team rankings, moving up two spots after competing in the ITA Women's Team Indoor Championship.
• The team ranking is Fresno State's highest ranking since reaching No. 15 on Jan. 27, 2010.
• Sophomore Mayar Sherif Ahmed is currently ranked No. 26 in singles.
• After a 7-6(9) win over No. 6 Anna Sanford/Miho Kowase of Ohio State, the Bulldog doubles team of Mayar and Rana Sherif Ahmed went from unranked to No. 18.
• Junior transfer Galina Bykova leads the team in singles in dual matches with a 5-1 record in the No. 3 spot. Anneka Watts and Sophie Watts have a 5-1 record in doubles, while Mayar Sherif Ahmed and Rana Sherif Ahmed are 6-2.
• Head Coach Ryan Stotland earned his 50th win at Fresno State on Jan. 23 as the `Dogs upset No. 9 UCLA 4-3 to earn a bid to indoor nationals.
Reaching Indoor Nationals
• The Bulldogs made their third trip to the ITA Women's Team Indoor Championship since 2008.
• The `Dogs are one of five mid-major programs to earn a spot in the indoor Sweet 16 during the last decade, and the only to go multiple times.
• They were the lowest-seeded team (3) to reach national indoors. Aside from Wisconsin, which is the host, the remainder of the 14 teams in the tournament were either No. 1 or No. 2 seeds during the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
• On Jan. 22 and 23, the Bulldogs completed back-to-back upsets over then-No. 34 Arkansas (4-1) and then-No. 9 UCLA (4-3) on the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. With the wins, the `Dogs earned a spot in the ITA National Women's Team Championships in Madison, Wis.
Topping the Top 10
• The win over UCLA was the program's fourth win over a Top 10 team since 2000 and second-ever over the Bruins.
Looking Like 2015
• After garnering seven Mountain West Player of the Week honors in 2015, which was tied for the most in a season by one team, the Bulldogs have already secured two of the first five in 2016.
