Bulldogs claim Mountain West Championship with 4-2 win over top-seeded UNLV

Sunday, April 29

Boise, Idaho

10 a.m. PT

Fresno State

Championship - #1 UNLV

Photo by: Tim Nwachukwu/NCAA Photos

Bulldogs claim Mountain West Championship with 4-2 win over top-seeded UNLV

4/29/2018 3:48:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

Fresno State earns its second MW title since joining the league for the 2012-13 season.

By: Josh Mitchell / Assistant Director of Communications

BOISE, Idaho – After suffering a 5-2 setback to UNLV eight days ago at Wathen Tennis Center, Fresno State avenged the regular-season loss at home with a 4-2 triumph over the top-seeded Rebels on Sunday afternoon in the 2018 Mountain West Championship match at Appleton Tennis Center. Katerina Stloukalova clinched the win in three sets after Georgia Lawson and Olivia Noble produced a pair of decisive straight-set wins at the back end of the Bulldogs' singles lineup.

"It feels amazing, I'm so proud of the team and Fresno State," head coach Ryan Stotland said. "Fresno State gives us all they can give and we're just happy we can give something back."

It is the second MW crown for the Bulldogs in the last five years, and the third championship match for the 'Dogs during that time. Fresno State had previously won the 2014 title in Fresno, California and fell to UNLV in Fort Collins, Colorado in 2016.

"I think the progression started in the fall and we just keep getting better," Stotland said of his young team. "We peaked at the right time. Before the tournament we started to get on a win streak and every match we just got better and more relaxed. When we're relaxed we're a very good team. After we got out of that first round we really just believed in ourselves. That was key."

The Bulldogs will now await the announcement of their first round opponent. The NCAA Women's Tennis Championship Selection Show will stream live on NCAA.com at 2 p.m. PT on Tuesday. Fresno State will enter the tournament having won nine of its last 11 matches.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles proved to play a key factor in Sunday's match as Fresno State entered the day with a 9-3 record when winning the first point.

UNLV struck first with a 6-3 win at the No. 1 position. For the third day in a row, Noble and Stloukalova won their doubles match at No. 3, defeating Izumi Asano and Samantha Li, 6-4. It was the first loss for the Rebels' pair in the tournament. In a back-and-forth match at No. 2, Alessia Dario and Juliane Triebe edged out Anna Bogoslavets and Juliet Zhang, 7-5, to send the match into singles with the Bulldogs holding the one-point lead and the momentum.

"Our doubles was great, that really gave us a boost," Stotland said. "It was a very tight doubles match and our girls really played our style of doubles and took their chances which is what I thought really set it off."

Like a day earlier, Lawson was the first Bulldog to strike in singles play. Relishing in the pressure, the sophomore from Nottingham, England improved to 3-0 in singles matches in her tournament career with a 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Jovana Kenic at the No. 5 position.

Noble, who entered the tournament splitting time in the lineup this season came up big for the 'Dogs for the second day in row at No. 6. A day after moving back into the lineup, the junior from Sheffield, England handed Fresno State a 3-0 advantage after a 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Samantha Li.

"I think our five and six took the energy and life out of our opponent," Stotland noted. "On the first four we just fought really hard on every court and gave ourselves a chance to win and UNLV did too. It just came down to a couple points and we were just better on those points today."

With the Bulldogs one point away, UNLV stuck twice with straight-set wins in the No. 1 and No. 5 matches.

After splitting the first two sets, Stloukalova headed into a third set with Asano on Court 2. While Stloukalova looked the aggressor in the opening set, Asano took control in the second and her momentum continued into the third. The Rebel broke the Bulldog early to take a 2-1 lead but Stloukalova answered back with a break of her own. From that point, the 2017 MW Freshman of the Year did not look back against the current conference Freshman of the Year. Riding high on emotion, Stloukalova rattled off the final four points of the match to secure the championship for Fresno State.

"I was imaging a similar situation that happened when I was in juniors back home and won a championship," Stloukalova said about the match today after losing to Asano in straight sets eight days ago. "I lost to a girl before and I remember my mom saying that I was going to beat her in a more important situation. I actually won a championship against her and that was exactly what was going on today."

Fresno State vs UNLV
Apr 29, 2018 at Boise, Idaho (Appleton Tennis Center)
Fresno State 4, UNLV 2

Singles competition
1. Aiwen Zhu (UNLV) def. Emma Wilson (FS) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
2. Katerina Stloukalova (FS) def. Izumi Asano (UNLV) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
3. En-Pei Huang (UNLV) vs. Juliane Triebe (FS) 7-5, 5-6, unfinished
4. Anna Bogoslavets (UNLV) def. Ndindi Ndunda (FS) 6-3, 7-5
5. Georgia Lawson (FS) def. Jovana Kenic (UNLV) 6-2, 6-1
6. Olivia Noble (FS) def. Samantha Li (UNLV) 6-2, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Aiwen Zhu/En-Pei Huang (UNLV) def. Emma Wilson/Georgia Lawson (FS) 6-3
2. Juliane Triebe/Alessia Dario (FS) def. Anna Bogoslavets/Juliet Zhang (UNLV) 7-5
3. Olivia Noble/Katerina Stloukalova (FS) def. Izumi Asano/Samantha Li (UNLV) 6-4

Match Notes:
Fresno State 12-12 UNLV 16-6
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,6,1,4,2)
Mountain West Conference Championship Match

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