Fresno State Athletics
Photo by: Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos
'Dogs blank Falcons 4-0 to advance in the MW Championship
4/26/2018 7:33:00 PM | Men's Tennis
SAN DIEGO – The Fresno State men's tennis team defeated Air Force 4-0 in the Mountain West Championship quarterfinals, Thursday night. The Bulldogs advance to the semifinals for the second consecutive season.
"It's a great feeling to get the win," said head coach Luke Shields. "Doubles was tough, Air Force had great energy, but we managed to find a way to get the doubles point. We took care of business in singles, and I was really happy with our focus. During the season we preached to the team to get better every match, I feel like we got better today."
Doubles – Fresno State won the doubles point. The Bulldogs have won the doubles point in their last three matches.
The Falcons earned an edge when they took the win at the No. 3 position 6-2.
Xander Veys and Cagatay Soke evened the playing field with a dominating 6-3 win at the No. 2 position. The pressure was on court #1 to decide the doubles point. Cem Erturk and Zdenek Derkas fought to take the match to a tiebreaker after being down 5-4. The duo fell behind in the tiebreaker 5-3, but battled to win four straight points, winning the tiebreaker 7-6(5).
The doubles point gave the Bulldogs the momentum going into singles.
Singles – Fresno State extended its lead to 2-0 when Derkas rolled passed his opponent 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 3. Derkas remains a perfect 8-0 against MW opponents this season.
Erturk gave the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead over the Falcons when he overcame an early first set deficit to defeat Paul Hendrix at the No. 4 position 6-2, 6-3. Erturk also remains undefeated against MW opponents, 6-0.
The match was clinched at the No. 5 position. Soke bested Sean McKendree 6-3, 6-0 to secure the Bulldogs' position in the semifinals. Soke is a perfect 4-0 against MW opponents this season.
The matches at courts 1, 3 and 6 were left unfinished.
"We were able to clinch a tough doubles point and take that momentum into singles," said Cem Erturk. "We played well in singles, and we were able to win this match. We are look forward to playing tomorrow."
Results:
Air Force vs Fresno State
Apr 26, 2018 at San Diego, California
(Aztec Tennis Center)
Fresno State 4, Air Force 0
Singles competition
1. Xander Veys (FS) vs. Patrick Sklenka (AFA) 6-1, 5-4, unfinished
2. Mantas Bugailiskis (FS) vs. Luke Sanderson (AFA) 6-2, 5-2, unfinished
3. Zdenek Derkas (FS) def. Isaac Perez (AFA) 6-0, 6-1
4. Cem Erturk (FS) def. Paul Hendrix (AFA) 6-2, 6-3
5. Cagatay Soke (FS) def. Sean McKendree (AFA) 6-3, 6-0
6. Jeremy Moser (FS) vs. Tadhg Collins (AFA) 4-6, 3-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Zdenek Derkas/Cem Erturk (FS) def. Isaac Perez/Patrick Sklenka (AFA) 7-6
2. Xander Veys/Cagatay Soke (FS) def. Luke Sanderson/Tadhg Collins (AFA) 6-3
3. Jamie Bautista/Paul Hendrix (AFA) def. Youssef Hassan/Mantas Bugailiskis (FS) 6-2
Match Notes:
Air Force 11-15
Fresno State 18-11
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,4,5)
Tournament Notes:
All matches of the 2018 Mountain West Men's Tennis Championship will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network. For complete coverage of the 2018 Conference tournament, visit Championship Central on the MW's official website. Live updates will also be available via twitter (@FresnoStateMTEN).
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" - The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogschoarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
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"It's a great feeling to get the win," said head coach Luke Shields. "Doubles was tough, Air Force had great energy, but we managed to find a way to get the doubles point. We took care of business in singles, and I was really happy with our focus. During the season we preached to the team to get better every match, I feel like we got better today."
Doubles – Fresno State won the doubles point. The Bulldogs have won the doubles point in their last three matches.
The Falcons earned an edge when they took the win at the No. 3 position 6-2.
Xander Veys and Cagatay Soke evened the playing field with a dominating 6-3 win at the No. 2 position. The pressure was on court #1 to decide the doubles point. Cem Erturk and Zdenek Derkas fought to take the match to a tiebreaker after being down 5-4. The duo fell behind in the tiebreaker 5-3, but battled to win four straight points, winning the tiebreaker 7-6(5).
The doubles point gave the Bulldogs the momentum going into singles.
Singles – Fresno State extended its lead to 2-0 when Derkas rolled passed his opponent 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 3. Derkas remains a perfect 8-0 against MW opponents this season.
Erturk gave the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead over the Falcons when he overcame an early first set deficit to defeat Paul Hendrix at the No. 4 position 6-2, 6-3. Erturk also remains undefeated against MW opponents, 6-0.
The match was clinched at the No. 5 position. Soke bested Sean McKendree 6-3, 6-0 to secure the Bulldogs' position in the semifinals. Soke is a perfect 4-0 against MW opponents this season.
The matches at courts 1, 3 and 6 were left unfinished.
"We were able to clinch a tough doubles point and take that momentum into singles," said Cem Erturk. "We played well in singles, and we were able to win this match. We are look forward to playing tomorrow."
Results:
Air Force vs Fresno State
Apr 26, 2018 at San Diego, California
(Aztec Tennis Center)
Fresno State 4, Air Force 0
Singles competition
1. Xander Veys (FS) vs. Patrick Sklenka (AFA) 6-1, 5-4, unfinished
2. Mantas Bugailiskis (FS) vs. Luke Sanderson (AFA) 6-2, 5-2, unfinished
3. Zdenek Derkas (FS) def. Isaac Perez (AFA) 6-0, 6-1
4. Cem Erturk (FS) def. Paul Hendrix (AFA) 6-2, 6-3
5. Cagatay Soke (FS) def. Sean McKendree (AFA) 6-3, 6-0
6. Jeremy Moser (FS) vs. Tadhg Collins (AFA) 4-6, 3-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Zdenek Derkas/Cem Erturk (FS) def. Isaac Perez/Patrick Sklenka (AFA) 7-6
2. Xander Veys/Cagatay Soke (FS) def. Luke Sanderson/Tadhg Collins (AFA) 6-3
3. Jamie Bautista/Paul Hendrix (AFA) def. Youssef Hassan/Mantas Bugailiskis (FS) 6-2
Match Notes:
Air Force 11-15
Fresno State 18-11
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,4,5)
Tournament Notes:
- Fresno State entered the 2018 Men's Tennis MW Championship as the No. 2 seed for the second straight season.
- The Bulldogs finished the season with a 17-11 (6-1 MW).
- Xander Veys, Zdenek Derkas and Mantas Bugailiskis were named to the 2018 All-MW Singles Team.
- Cem Erturk was named the 2018 MW Freshman of the Year.
- Fresno State has won MW Freshman of the Year the last two seasons.
- Fresno State has three players that remain undefeated against MW opponents.
- Fresno State was 26-6 in singles matches during conference play.
- Fresno State's only loss in conference was to #1 Utah State (4-2).
All matches of the 2018 Mountain West Men's Tennis Championship will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network. For complete coverage of the 2018 Conference tournament, visit Championship Central on the MW's official website. Live updates will also be available via twitter (@FresnoStateMTEN).
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" - The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogschoarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
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