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NCAA Tournament Notes

WAC WOMENS TENNIS NOTEBOOK

FRESNO STATE FALLS IN FIRST ROUND OF NCAA TOURNAMENT With 78 career victories in singles and 84 more in doubles, senior Lucia Tallo has many fond memories of the time she spent at Fresno State. Unfortunately, her NCAA Tournament match was not one of them.

Dominika Dieskovas 6-4, 6-4 victory over Tallo at No. 2 singles clinched a 4-2 win for Oregon over the Bulldogs in a first round match at the Taube Family Tennis Center on the campus of Stanford. The loss ends Fresno States season.

Tallo, who ranks fifth on the programs all-time singles wins list, came up just short in a match that was tighter than the final score indicated. Both sets featured several deuce games, including when Tallo was serving to stay in it at 4-5. After a Tallo error set up Dieskovas third match point, Dieskova clinched the win with a running crosscourt forehand passing shot that landed just inside the line, out of Tallos reach.

MUSCOLINO QUALIFIES FOR NCAA INIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT Tulsa junior Daniela Muscolino has been selected to participate at the 2005 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships in Athens, Ga. Muscolino, who received an automatic bid from the Central Region, will participate in her second NCAA tournament in as many years. The tournament will be held at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex May 23-28.

In late April, Muscolino was named the WAC Player of the Year as well as being named to the all-conference first team in both singles and doubles.

Muscolino, a native or Buenos Aires, Argentina, finished the season with a 23-12 singles record, including 15-4 in duels and 8-6 against ranked opponents, Muscolino is currently ranked 84th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. She has 68 career singles wins, giving her sole possession of fifth place on the school's all-time wins list.
ITA RANKINGS Fresno State is the highest ranked WAC team coming in at No. 45. Rice, who advanced to the WAC Tournament championship game is the second-highest ranked WAC school in the latest ITA rankings with a No. 48 ranking. Tulsa is ranked No. 66, while SMU is ranked No. 68.

RICES DISESA HONORED BY ITA Rice junior Blair DiSesa earned the Southwest Region ITA Arthur Ashe Award which is given to players who display great leadership and sportsmanship. The ITA gives the award to a player who shows good sportsmanship as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. Rices Robert Searle earned this award on the mens side in the South Central Region. Boise State senior Beck Roghaar also earned the honor for the Mountain Region. Searle was the WAC Player of the Year and was also named first team all-WAC in singles and doubles.

CHAMPIONSHIP REVIEW Fresno State claimed its fourth-straight WAC Women's Tennis Championship, defeating Rice, 4-0, at the Hawaii Tennis Complex in Honolulu. The second-seeded Bulldogs used their best match of the year to knock off top-seeded Rice. Fresno State ties BYU for most overall WAC titles with five and for consecutive titles with four.

The Bulldogs (ITA #53) grabbed the doubles point with 8-3 victories at the Nos. 1 and 3 courts. Fresno States top duo of Lucia Sainz and Courtney Jantz, ranked No. 51 in the ITA national rankings, defeated Kimberley Patenaude and Medeja Egic.

Fresno State took a commanding 3-0 lead as Lucia Tallo and Jacqui Haskett made quick work of their matches at the Nos. 2 and 5 courts. With three singles matches closely contested, Katarina Winterhalter pulled out a 7-5, 7-6 (2) victory over Blair DiSesa at No. 1 to clinch the championship.

2005 POST-SEASON HONORS

First-Team all-WAC
Singles
Daniela Muscolino, Tulsa
Blair DiSesa, Rice
Lauren Fitzgerald, Hawaii
Katarina Winterhalter, Fresno State
Jenny Langer, SMU
Lucia Sainz, Fresno State

Doubles
Lucia Sainz/Courtney Jantz, Fresno State
Daniela Muscolino/Carla Zabaleta, Tulsa
Alissa Ayling/Megan Biorkman, Boise State

Second-Team all-WAC
Singles
Carla Zabaleta, Tulsa
Svetlana Kouzmenko, SMU
Carolina Pongratz, Boise State
Ashley Tavita, San Jose State
Tracie Chong, Rice
Nadja Woscheck, Boise State

Doubles
Nadja Woschek/Tiffany Coll, Boise State
Courtney Koenigsfeld/Ashley Tavita, San Jose State
Tracie Chong/Kimberley Patenaude, Rice

Player of the Year:
Daniela Muscolino, Jr., Tulsa

Freshman of the Year:
Carla Zabaleta, Tulsa

Coach of the Year:
Roger White, Rice