Both Fresno State and Boise State earned bids to the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship. The 14th-ranked Fresno State team will host an NCAA regional for the first time since 2001 after the tournament bracket was released Tuesday morning.
Click Here for the Team Selection List
Click Here for the Individuals and Doubles Teams
Fresno State was awarded the No. 14 seed in the 64-team bracket and will play Army in the first round on May 12 in the Wathen Tennis Center. No. 20 Pepperdine will play Long Beach State in the other first round matchup and the winners will play on May 13 for the right to play in the NCAA Round of 16 in Athens, Ga.
Fresno State enters the tournament having won 11 consecutive matches, including three-straight at the WAC Championships in Boise, Idaho where the `Dogs won their sixth conference title in a row and seventh overall. The last time Fresno State hosted a regional, the Bulldogs lost to UCLA 4-3 in 2001.
The Boise State University women’s tennis resume was enough to earn the team an at-large bid to the 2007 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship. In the first round, the No. 44 ranked Boise State Broncos will meet No. 24 Indiana, Friday, May 11, at Evanston, Ill., at 9:00 a.m. (MT).
The Broncos earned the selection by posting an 18-4 record on the year including going 7-1 in conference and 6-4 against nationally ranked opponents. The Broncos also closed out the season with wins in six of their final seven matches, with their only loss coming in the Western Athletic Conference Championship to No. 16 Fresno State. This is the first appearance for Boise State in the NCAA Championship since 2001 when the team earned an automatic bid after winning the Big West Conference Championship.
Individually, three Bulldogs qualified for the individual singles and doubles tournament.
Sophomores Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe and freshman Renata Kucerkova will play in the singles and doubles tournament following the team championships. Gloria earned the No. 3 overall seed in the singles tournament and was an automatic qualifier from the Western Athletic Conference. Gloria and Rowe were also automatic qualifiers as a doubles tandem. Kucerkova earned an at-large bid for the singles tournament.
Gloria, currently ranked No. 3 in the country, was the WAC Player of the Year for the second straight season. She is 35-4 overall and 21-1 in dual matches. During the fall season, Gloria reached the finals of the ITA All-American, college tennis' first national tournament of the season.
Kucerkova had an outstanding rookie season with the Bulldogs, earning the 2007 WAC Freshman of the Year. Kucerkova went 29-7 overall and 13-3 in dual matches. She is currently ranked No. 54 in the country, but has been as high as No. 41.
Gloria and Rowe were the WAC's best doubles tandem this season. The two were partnered at the No. 1 spot during the middle of the regular season and responded very well. After losing their first two matches together, the duo won 10 straight matches including a win over current No. 4 Cetnik and Sydorska.