March 8, 2008

FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State Men's Tennis team won their seventh home-match of the season, defeating UNLV 6-1. The Bulldogs took an early lead winning the doubles point, and taking all three matches. In singles, the bulldogs won five out of the six matches in straight-sets.

"UNLV is a solid team and it was a good match," head coach Jay Udwadia said. "We played well overall today and the match should provide us with some confidence for the Blue Gray Classic."

The Bulldogs were on fire in doubles as they swept the Rebels. Playing at the No. 1 spot, Rudy Siwy and Mirko Zapletal won the first match for the Bulldogs, defeating Wronski and Burrows, 8-6.

At the No. 2 spot, Denny Fafek and Tejesvi Veerepalli secured the doubles point for Fresno State, beating Campbell and Barlocchi 8-5. At the No. 3 doubles, A.J. Kerin and Taylor Leiby played solid to defeat Giuffrida and Miller, 8-6.

With enthusiasm in the air, the Dog's singles players began their matches and took an early lead over the Revels.

At the No. 6 spot, Siddharth Alapati won his match in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 defeating Andrew Guiffrida to give the Bulldogs their first singles point, making it 2-0 Bulldogs. Freshman Martin Nilsson played solid at the No. 5 spot, breezing past David Campbell, 6-4, 6-2 giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 advantage.

Clinching the match for Fresno State and playing at the No. 1 spot, Junior Rudolf Siwy defeated No.93 Elliot Wronski, 6-3, 7-5. "Rudy was ready to play today and he played solid at the No. 1 spot," Udwadia said.

Sophomore Mirko Zapletal played at the No. 2 spot flawlessly, beating Lucca Barlocchi in straight-sets, 6-1, 6-4. At the No. 6 spot, Freshman Denny Fafek played tough to defeat Bryan Miller 7-6, 7-5.

The Bulldogs improved to 9-3 overall for the season while the Rebels fell to 5-4. Check out the 'Dogs next week as they travel to the Blue Gray Classic in Montgomery, Alabama to take on other top ranked teams.

NCAA Men's Tennis
Wathen Tennis Center (Fresno, Calif.)
March 8, 2008

No. 45 Fresno State def. UNLV, 6-1

Doubles (Fresno State wins doubles point)
1) Siwy/Zapletal (FS) def. Wronski/Burrows (UNLV), 8-6
2) Fafek/Veerepalli (FS) def. Campbell/Barlocchi (UNLV), 8-5
3) Kerin/Leiby (FS) def. Giuffrida/Miller (UNLV), 8-6
Order of completion: 1, 2, 3

Singles
1) * Rudolf Siwy (FS) def. Elliot Wronski (UNLV), 6-3, 7-5
2) No. 99 Mirko Zapletal (FS) def. Lucca Barlocchi (UNLV), 6-1, 6-4
3) Wes Burrows (UNLV) def. Tejesvi Veerepalli (FS), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
4) Denny Fafek (FS) def. Bryan Miller (UNLV), 7-6, 7-5
5) Martin Nilsson (FS) def. David Campbell (UNLV), 6-4, 6-2
6) Siddharth Alapati (FS) def. Andrew Giuffrida (UNLV), 6-2, 6-2
Order of completion: 6, 5, 1*, 3, 2, 5
* clinched match

Records: Fresno State (9-3); UNLV (5-4)