March 21, 2008

FRESNO, Calif. - Senior Jacqueline Haskett delivered a thrilling victory in the tiebreaker of the second set, sending No. 16 Fresno State to a 4-3 victory over No. 21 Denver on Friday evening at the Wathen Tennis Center. After the Pioneers had won the doubles point, Fresno State needed four wins in singles play to come from behind. Haskett came through in the clutch, trading fighter-like punches with Denver's Kyla Iwinski in the tiebreaker before winning 11-9 in the decisive frame.

"I thought we really came back strong in singles after struggling in doubles," said head coach Simon Thibodeau. "Give credit to Denver, they came out and gave us a tough match. They were 15-1 and I thought it was great that we pulled out a 4-3 win."

Denver won two of three doubles matches. The lone victory for Fresno State came at the No. 2 spot where sophomores Renata Kucerkova and Anastasia Petukhova beat Iwinski and Schnoy, 8-1.

In singles, Kucerkova was the first to finish, dominating Ute Schnoy at the No. 3 spot with a 6-0, 6-0 clinic. Kucerkova finished the match having only lost one game in both singles and doubles combined. She improved to 15-9 overall and 8-5 in dual matches after the win.

Junior Melanie Gloria was solid as well, playing at the No. 2 spot and beating Annette Aksdal 6-3, 6-1. Petukhova followed with an impressive straight-set victory at the No. 1 spot, beating Mallory Voelker 6-4, 6-2.

Denver rallied with wins on court No. 4 and No. 6 before Haskett's heroics on court No. 5.

Fresno State improved to 8-5 on the season and dropped Denver to 15-2. The Bulldogs will be back on the courts Saturday evening at 5 p.m. when they host BYU at the Wathen Tennis Center.

NCAA Women's Tennis
Wathen Tennis Center (Fresno, Calif.)
March 21, 2008

No. 16 Fresno State def. No. 21 Denver, 4-3

Doubles (Denver wins doubles point)
1) Bauregger/Voelker (UD) def. No. 2 Gloria/Rowe (FS), 8-2
2) No. 26 Kucerkova/Petukhova (FS) def. Iwinski/Schnoy (UD), 8-1
3) Aksdal/Tirumurti (UD) def. Haskett/Heroux (FS), 8-3
Order of completion: 2, 3, 1

Singles
1) No. 12 Anastasia Petukhova (FS) def. No. 77 Mallory Voelker (UD), 6-4, 6-2
2) No. 13 Melanie Gloria (FS) def. Annette Aksdal (UD), 6-3, 6-1
3) Renata Kucerkova (FS) def. Ute Schnoy (UD), 6-0, 6-0
4) Julia Bauregger (UD) def. No. 104 Tinesta Rowe (FS), 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
5) Jacqueline Haskett (FS) def. Kyla Iwinski (UD), 6-2, 7-6 (9)
6) Bhavani Tirumurti (UD) def. Danon Beatty (FS), 6-4, 6-1
Order of completion: 3, 2, 1, 6, 4, 5*
* clinched match

Records: Fresno State (8-5); Denver (15-2)