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Final Women's 2003 Tennis Notes (June 2)

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NCAA TEAM TOURNAMENT
First Round - Fresno State used solid doubles play and singles victories in the middle of its lineup en route to a 4-0 victory over San Diego State, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Tempe, Ariz. The Bulldogs (17-7) advance to the second round against host Arizona State, the tournament's 15th-seeded team. The victory was Fresno State's 10th in a row. The Bulldogs, currently ranked 20th nationally, have reached at least the second round of the NCAA's the last five years.

Second Round - Arizona State battled back from a 2-0 deficit to post a 4-2 victory over Fresno State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe, Ariz. The victory sent the Sun Devils (11-10), the tournament's 15th seeded team, into the round of 16 where they played No. 2-seed and eventual NCAA champiions Florida in Gainesville, Fla. Fresno State's season ends with a record of 17-8 and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth year in a row.

NCAA SINGLES TOURNAMENT
First Round - Fresno States Chloe Carlotti defeated Liina Suurvarik of Illinois State 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the NCAA Singles Tournament in Gainesville, Fla. Carlotti, a 9-16 seed in the tournament, then played Alice Pirsu of Pennsylvania in the second round. Carlotti and Pirsu played when Fresno State and the Quakers hooked up in a dual match March 10 at the Wathen Tennis Center. Carlotti won 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 after leading 5-0 in the third set.

Against Suurvarik, who entered the NCAA's ranked 38th in the nation, Carlotti started a bit slow but found her groove after grinding out the first set. She bolted to a 5-0 lead in the second before closing out Suurvarik 6-2. It was the two-time All-American's 10th win in a row.

Tulsa seniors Aleksandra Durska and Alicia Pillay fell in first-round action of the 2003 NCAA Division I Singles Championship at the Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, Fla. Durska dropped a 6-0, 6-3 decision to USCs 21st-ranked Luana Magnani in first-round action. This marked Durska's only appearance in the NCAA Singles Championship. Durska netted a 28-10 singles record, including an 18-6 dual mark, to record the second most wins this season for the Golden Hurricane. She owns the Tulsa career singles and doubles record with 115 singles wins and 88 doubles victories, and has been an all-WAC performer for four years.

Pillay, the nation's 31st-ranked player, fell to Texas A&M's 71st-ranked Jessica Roland, 2-6, 6-4, 6-0. This is Pillay's second selection to the NCAA Singles Championships, as she advanced to the second round last year. She notched a 31-8 overall singles record this year for TU, including a 9-7 record against ranked opponents.

Second Round - An early-morning wake-up call and a tough opponent proved too much for Fresno States Chloe Carlotti to overcome, and the sophomore was upset by Pennsylvania's Alice Pirsu 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the second round of the NCAA Singles Tournament in Gainesville, Fla. Carlotti, a 9-16 seeded player, took the court at 6 a.m. PT and never got her teeth into the match until after losing the first set 6-1. After winning the second set 6-4 and forcing a third, the two-time All-American immediately fell behind a break 3-1. But Carlotti eventually got the break back, but serving at 4-5, she was broken to lose the match.

NCAA DOUBLES TOURNAMENT
First Round - Fresno States Chloe Carlotti and Lucia Tallo lost to 5-8 seed Christina Fusano and Raquel Kops-Jones of California 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the first round of the NCAA Doubles Tournament in Gainesville, Fla. The loss snapped the Bulldog duo's 14-match winning streak. They finish the year 20-3 (16-1 dual), with two of their three loses coming at the hands of Fusano and Kops-Jones.

CARLOTTI NAMED ALL-AMERICA
Fresno State sophomore Chloe Carlotti received a 9-16 seed at the NCAA Singles Tournament and thus automatically was named All-America this year, the second season in a row she achieved the honor. Carlotti, a Paris native, went 28-7 (19-2 dual) in singles and becomes the first player in program history to become an All-American in singles more than once. Other Fresno State women's tennis All-Americans are: Dora Djilianova (1999), Kim Niggemeyer (2000) and Liesl Fichtbauer (2001).

2003 ITA REGIONAL AWARDS WINNERS
ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship
Karen Chao, Rice - Southwest

ITA/Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award
Aleksandra Durska, Tulsa - Central

ITA Senior Player of the Year
Alicia Pillay, Tulsa - Central

The ITA/Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship goes to a player who has exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. The Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship goes to a womens player who displays inspiring dedication and commitment to her team, which has enhanced her teams performance and exemplified the spirit of college tennis.

2003 WAC TOURNAMENT Fresno State knocked off Tulsa, 4-2 to take home its second-straight WAC crown at the 2003 WAC Championship in Boise, Idaho. Chloe Carlotti's three-set victory at No. 1 singles clinched top-seeded Fresno State's 4-2 victory over Tulsa.

It marks the third league title that the Bulldogs (16-7) have won since joining the WAC in 1992, including their second in a row. Since Kevin Epley took over as head coach prior to the 2000-01 season, Fresno State has played in the WAC finals each year.

The win also gave the Bulldogs an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, which begins May 9 at campus sites around the nation.

In doubles action, TU's 57th-ranked tandem, Alicia Pillay and Aleksandra Durska, fell to Fresno's 15th-ranked duo, Carlotti and Lucia Tallo, 8-6, in the No. 1 doubles slot. Also for the Golden Hurricane Zoe Buhagiar and Daniela Muscolino dropped their match in the No. 3 position, 8-3 to Vlatka Jovanovic and Kristy McRae.

Fresno State's ninth-ranked Carlotti overcame 26th-ranked Pillay 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 1 singles position, but Muscolino posted a 6-3, 6-4 win in the No. 3 slot for Tulsa over Lucia Sainz. Tiffany Smith netted the other point for the Golden Hurricane as she finished 6-2, 6-3 over Vlatka Jovanovic in the No. 4 position. Kathrin Winterhalter and McRae tallied the fifth and sixth singles points for the Bulldogs, 6-1, 6-0 and 6-4, 6-1, respectivley to gain the much needed points.