FRESNO, Calif. - Third-ranked Fresno State sophomore Melanie Gloria took a tough three-set loss to No. 18 Zuzana Zemenova of Baylor Friday afternoon during the NCAA Round of 16 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. The 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 loss to Zemenova ends Gloria's outstanding season in which she helped the Bulldogs to the NCAA team championships last week.
Gloria repeated as the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2007 as Fresno State won its sixth consecutive conference title. Gloria was a finalist in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's All-American Championships, and a semifinalist in both the Northwest Regionals and ITA Indoor Championships.
Gloira finished the 2006-07 season with an overall record of 38-5. She was outstanding in dual matches, going 22-1 during the season. In individual tournament play, Gloria went 16-4. In doubles, she was solid as well with a 21-10 overall record. In dual matches, Gloria went 13-4 with Tinesta Rowe and the two were NCAA qualifiers this season.
In only two seasons at Fresno State, Gloria has compiled a 58-11 overall record. She was the 2006 WAC Freshman of the Year and the Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007. She is a two-time first-team all-WAC honoree in both singles and doubles and has participated in the NCAA singles tournament in both of her seasons.
On Thursday, Gloria was named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District second-team for outstanding performance on the court and in the classroom.
This year Gloria also earned a No. 2 national ranking, the highest ranking ever achieved by a Fresno State men or women's tennis student-athlete.
Earlier in the week, Gloria won her 22nd straight singles match on Thursday, defeating North Carolina's Katrina Tsang 6-2, 6-3 during the NCAA round of 32 in Athens, Ga. In doubles, however, Gloria and sophomore Tinesta Rowe fell 6-4, 6-3 to Tennessee's Caitlin Whoriskey and Zsofia Zubor.
Gloria got off to a good start during the NCAA singles first round, beating Georgia Tech's Kristen Flower 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday in Athens, Ga. Freshman Renata Kucerkova, however, lost 6-1, 6-3 to No. 2-ranked Megan Falcon of LSU.