FRESNO, Calif. - (4/30/01) No. 10 Fresno State women's tennis had their eight-match winning streak snapped on April 29, falling to No. 25 TCU in the WAC Championship final, 4-2, at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center. As a result, TCU claimed the WAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Fresno State falls to 20-4, while TCU improves to 20-3 after winning its second consecutive WAC title.
TCU, the tournament's No. 2 seed, took a 1-0 lead in the match with doubles victories at the Nos. 2 and 3 spots en route to snatching the doubles point. Singles competition was more competitive, with the Horned Frogs winning three of the five matches played to secure the victory. The match was clinched when Patricia Aburto of TCU nipped No. 44 Liesl Fichtbauer 7-5, 7-6 (4) at the No. 2 singles spot. Fresno State, the tournament's No. 1 seed, received wins from Simone Jardim and Kelly Ramirez at the Nos. 3 and 5 spots, respectively, to cut the lead.
TCU - 4
Fresno State - 2
Singles
1) No. 30 Kim Niggemeyer (FS) vs. Katrin Gaber (TCU) abandoned
2) Patricia Aburto (TCU) def. No. 44 Liesl Fichtbauer (FS) 7-5, 7-6 (4)
3) Simone Jardim (FS) def. Leoni Weirich (TCU) 7-6 (6), 6-3
4) Rosa Perez (TCU) def. Chantel Wiggins (FS) 6-2, 6-2
5) Kelly Ramirez (FS) def. Carolina Roubickova (TCU) 6-0, 7-6 (2)
6) Saber Pierce (TCU) def. Courtney Jantz (FS) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles
1) No. 6 Jardim-Niggemeyer (FS) vs. Gaber-Roubickova abandoned
2) Aburto/Weirich (TCU) def. Fichtbauer-Jantz 8-6
3) Pierce/Perez (TCU) def. Wiggins-Ramirez 8-3