Bulldogs ready to take on 71st Annual Blue Gray National Tennis Classic

FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State women's tennis team will fly across the country to the Deep South for its next competition, heading to Montgomery, Ala., to compete in the 71^st Annual Blue Gray National Tennis Classic over the weekend. The 'Dogs will open the tournament by facing No. 35 Texas Tech in the first round on Friday at 10:30 a.m. PT at the O'Connor Tennis Center.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Live scoring and draw updates will be provided on the tournament website. The Bulldog Twitter page, @FresnoStateWTEN, and GoBulldogs.com will also provide updates and results.

THE FIELD
Competing against Fresno State is a field full of ranked opponents including No. 13 Oklahoma State, No. 22 Illinois, No. 33 Wake Forest, No. 35 Texas Tech, No. 37 Auburn and No. 43 Alabama along with Yale.

FIRST ROUND DRAW
The tournament seeds are as follows: No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Illinois, No. 3 Wake Forest and No. 4 Texas Tech. Fresno State, Auburn, Yale and Alabama are unseeded.

No. 33 Wake Forest will take on Yale at the O'Connor Tennis Center while No. 22 Illinois faces No. 43 Alabama at Lagoon Park. Both matches will be played on Friday at 7 a.m. PT.

No. 13 Oklahoma State will square off against No. 37 Auburn at Lagoon Park while No. 35 Texas Tech battles Fresno State at the O'Connor Tennis Center, with both matches being played on Friday at 10:30 a.m. PT.

ABOUT THE BLUE GRAY
The Blue Gray National Tennis Classic is known for drawing elite programs together for a midseason test as evidenced by the highly ranked field. Along with the high level of competition, the tournament also provides a unique showing of southern hospitality. Tennis fans in the Montgomery area open up their homes to give the players a place to stay for the duration of the tournament.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 'DOGS
Fresno State ended last season with an overall record of 12-14, but the team experienced more success than the record would suggest. Eight of the Bulldogs' losses came to ranked opponents, with seven in the top 25 and three in the top 10. After that experience, the 'Dogs went on to win eight out of their last 10 matches, including going 3-1 in the conference regular season to notch the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. The momentum carried over to the conference tournament, leading to an unblemished run for their second Mountain West title in four years as they took down No. 1 seed UNLV in the finals, 4-2. Following that, Fresno State made a team appearance in the NCAA tournament and was also represented individually by one doubles tandem.

After taking the conference crown last season, the reigning Mountain West champion Bulldogs have brought a revamped squad into the new season with just two returners in the lineup and six true freshmen rounding out the roster. Fresno State is led by first-year head coach Ric Mortera. The 'Dogs have no seniors on the team as the two incumbents include junior Georgia Lawson and sophomore Alessia Dario.

Freshman Jennifer Timotin has taken the lead role of the young core, going 9-10 in singles overall this season with two dual singles wins at the one spot. The Dublin, Ireland, native is also 8-7 in doubles on the season with one win in duals at the one spot alongside Lawson.

Fresno State is 3-2 on the season to date. The 'Dogs came out on top in their last match, edging the Dons of San Francisco in a final set thriller, 4-3.

Lawson and the freshman pair of A.C. Hummel and Shir Azran led the squad to the win last week, each earning wins in singles and doubles. Hummel's performance in particular was magnified as she helped clinch the doubles point and clinched the team win over the Dons by claiming her court in the third set with the match on the line. The Bissingen, Germany, native is now up to 3-1 in single and doubles dual play, the best marks for the Bulldogs in duals.

SCOUTING THE RED RAIDERS
Texas Tech is 6-3 on the season, going 3-0 at home and 3-3 on the road to achieve a ranking of No. 35 by the ITA. Each of the Red Raiders losses have come to opponents that were ranked in the top 20 at the time of competition in No. 14 NC State, No. 15 South Carolina and No. 17 Miami. Texas Tech has one ranked singles player in senior Felicity Maltby at No. 36.

Last week: The Red Raiders breezed through their doubleheader last Friday, sweeping Tulane, 7-0, and dominating New Mexico, 4-1.

Last season: Texas Tech finished the 2018 season with a record of 23-7, including going 7-2 in conference play, making a run to the Big 12 Championship match and advancing to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 3 Duke. The Red Raiders also had multiple individuals competing in the NCAA Singles Championships and the NCAA Doubles Championships, advancing as far as the round of 32 in doubles and advancing as far as the round of 16 in singles.

All time: Texas Tech leads the all-time series over Fresno State, 2-0. The two sides' only meetings came on Jan. 30, 2016, and on March 10, 2018, when the Red Raiders defeated the Bulldogs, 4-3 and 4-0, respectively.

UP NEXT
Fresno State will face the winner or loser of No. 13 Oklahoma State and No. 37 Auburn on Friday at 2 p.m. PT at Lagoon Park pending the morning's results. The 'Dogs will also compete on Saturday at Lagoon Park, but the opponent and time will be determined by the tournament's results.

Following the tournament, the 'Dogs will come home to host Fresno City in a doubleheader on March 2 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. PT at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center. Admission is free, and live scoring updates will be provided on GoBulldogs.com and the Bulldog Twitter page @FresnoStateWTEN.

Follow us on:
Twitter: @FresnoStateWTEN
Instagram: fresnostatewt
Facebook: FresnoStateAthletics

"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.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.

Bulldogs ready to take on 71st Annual Blue Gray National Tennis Classic

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Shir Azran

Alessia Dario

A.C. Hummel

Georgia Lawson

Jennifer Timotin

Fresno State Athletics