FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State seniors Lucia Sainz and Katharina Winterhalter are on their way to the NCAA doubles title match after defeating sixth-ranked Sara Anundsen and Jenna Long of North Carolina. 7-5, 6-3. The Bulldog duo played consistent throughout the match, proving to be a worthy national finalist for the second time this season. Sainz and Winterhalter improved their overall record to 39-11, while Anundsen and Long finished their year with 39-12 mark.
"This is a great win for Lucia and Katharina," said head coach Simon Thibodeau. "It's also a tremendous accomplishment for our program. But there's still one match to go and these ladies want to win it this time."
Sainz and Winterhalter trailed early, 3-1, in the first set. The score was tied at five when the tandem broke serve and held to take the first set. The Bulldog seniors then carried over the momentum, braking serve to begin the second set. Sainz and Winterhalter proceeded to hold four straight times before braking again to win the set and clinch the match.
"We played our game today," said Sainz. "We served a lot to their backhand, and I was serving a lot better today too."
Sainz and Winterhalter were broken only once in the fourth game of the first set. The rest of the way the duo held, often coming back to win games from 40-15.
"Our game is at the net, so some of our mistakes come earlier rather than later," said Winterhalter. "Once we got into a groove, we started to play with confidence. We still need to make some adjustments, but we're playing well right now."
The senior combo has now won four straight matches and with one more victory would become the program's first national champion. Only two years ago, former Bulldog Jelena Pandzic reached the national singles final, only to lose to Stanford's Amber Liu.
During the fall season, Sainz and Winterhalter made it to the final of the ITA All-American, college tennis' first major championship of the season. The Fresno State tandem lost, however, in the tiebreak to Catrina and Christian Thompson of Notre Dame. But this Bulldog duo has proved it can win the big match, defeating No. 1 Alice Barnes and Anne Yelsey of Stanford in the Northwest Regional final.
"They're playing with so much focus right now," said Thibodeau, who received a worthy gift as he celebrated his birthday on Sunday. "I think they were a little nervous at first, but they settled down and played with determination."
No. 7 Sainz and Winterhalter will take on 13th-ranked Cristelle Grier and Alexis Prousis of Northwestern for the doubles national title at 2 p.m. on Monday, May 29, in the Taube Tennis Center on the campus of Stanford University.
NCAA Women's Doubles Championships (Palo Alto, Calif.)
No. 7 Sainz/Winterhalter (FS) def. No. 6 Anundsen/Long (UNC), 7-5, 6-3
No. 7 Sainz/Winterhalter (FS) def. No. 2 Applebaum/Cohen (Miami), 7-6 (6), 6-4
No. 7 Sainz/Winterhalter (FS) def. No. 28 Matias/Vermeulen (USC), 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1
No. 7 Sainz/Winterhalter (FS) def. No. 23 James/Stern (Virginia), 6-0, 6-2 navbuilder