April 19, 2008

FRESNO, Calif. - The 15th-ranked Fresno State women's tennis team showed no mercy to visiting Cal Poly on Saturday, beating the Mustangs 6-1 in the first match of a doubleheader at the Wathen Tennis Center.

In doubles, the `Dogs dominated all three matches 8-1, 8-4 and 8-3. No. 25-ranked sophomores Renata Kucerkova and Anastasia Petukhova defeated Shannon Brady and Maria Malec finishing first, 8-1. Third-ranked juniors Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe conquered Brittany Blalock and Steffi Wong 8-4, clinching the doubles point for the Bulldogs. The third finishing Bulldog tandem, senior Jacqueline Haskett and junior Danon Beatty, prevailed in an 8-3 victory over Diane Filip and Amy Markhoff.

Moving into singles, No. 20 Petukhova gave a powerful performace, topping Whitney Peterson 6-1 and 6-2 in just 56 minutes. No. 16-ranked Gloria dominated Brittany Blalock 6-1, 6-3 and was second to finish. Shortly after, Kucerkova added another Bulldog victory beating Diane Filip 6-2 and 6-1 and clinching the match for the `Dogs. Senior Jacqueline Haskett displayed a strong spirit in one of her final home matches of the regular season, beating Shannon Brady 6-0 and 6-2.

Ending the match, Rowe closed the door on Amy Markhoff 6-4 and 6-1. Cal Poly's only victory was won in a super-tiebreaker as Maria Malec defeated Beatty, 1-6, 7-5, (10-3).

The Bulldogs improved to 16-7 on the season and will face Pacific at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon in the second match of a doubleheader.

NCAA Women's Tennis (Match 1)
Wathen Tennis Center (Fresno, Calif.)
April 19, 2008

No. 15 Fresno State def. Cal Poly, 6-1

Doubles (Fresno State wins doubles point)
1) No. 3 Gloria/Rowe (FS) def. Blalock/Wong (CP), 8-4
2) No. 25 Kucerkova/Petukhova (FS) def. Brady/Malec (CP), 8-1
3) Beatty/Haskett (FS) def. Filip/Markhoff, 8-3
Order of completion: 2, 1, 3

Singles
1) No. 16 Melanie Gloria (FS) def. Brittany Blalock (CP), 6-1, 6-3
2) No. 20 Anastasia Petukhova (FS) def. Whitney Peterson (CP), 6-1, 6-2
3) * Renata Kucerkova (FS) def. Diane Filip (CP), 6-1, 6-3
4) Tinesta Rowe (FS) def. Amy Markhoff (CP), 6-4, 6-1
5) Jacqueline Haskett (FS) def. Shannon Brady (CP), 6-0, 6-2
6) Maria Malec (CP) def. Danon Beatty (FS), 1-6, 7-5, (10-3)
Order of completion: 2, 1, 3, 5, 4, 6
* clinched match

Records: Fresno State (16-7); Cal Poly (11-11)