2008 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships Bracket
FRESNO ? The No. 16-ranked Fresno State Bulldogs are Sweet 16 bound after defeating No. 21 Arizona State, 4-1, at the Wathen Tennis Center on the campus of Fresno State University, in front of hundreds of Bulldog faithful. Fresno State is now heading to its third-straight NCAA Round of 16 and will face No. 1 Northwestern on Thursday, May 15, in Tulsa, Okla.
Fresno State notched the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, taking an early 1-0 lead over the Sun Devils. The No. 2-ranked duo of Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe topped No. 30-ranked Laila Abdala and Nadia Abdala, 8-5, followed by No. 33-ranked Renata Kucerkova and Anastasia Petukhova taking down No. 50-ranked Jessica Leitch and Wendy Pilecka in a tiebreaker, 9-8.
In singles action, No. 16-ranked Gloria knocked off her opponent at the No. 1 position in quick fashion, defeating No. 23 Nadia Abdala in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. Kucerkova added a solid victory at the No. 3 spot, taking down Laila Abdala, 6-1, 6-3. Arizona State tallied its only point at the No. 6 position, with Ashlee Brown taking down Danon Beatty, 6-3, 6-3, but Tinesta Rowe clinched the match for the Bulldogs with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Jessica Leitch at the No. 4 spot.
The Bulldogs now advance to the NCAA Round of 16 for the third-straight year and the fourth time in five years. They will play No. 1 Northwestern on Thursday, May 15. Earlier this season the Bulldogs lost to Northwestern, 4-1, at the ITA National Team Indoors in Madison, Wisconsin.
Top-ranked Northwestern made an early statement in the NCAA Championships this weekend with two easy 4-0 victories over both Illinois-Chicago and Indiana. Since the NCAA tennis tournament began in 1982, the Wildcats will make their 14th all-time appearance in the Sweet 16. Northwestern has advanced to the Quarterfinal Round three times in program history (1986, 1987, 2006). This year will mark the Wildcats fifth-consecutive trip to the Round of 16. In 2006, the Wildcats reached the quarterfinals for the first time in 19 years.
NCAA Tennis Championships (NCAA Second Round)
Wathen Tennis Center, Fresno State University
May 10, 2008
No. 16 Fresno State def. No. 21 Arizona State, 4-1
DOUBLES (Fresno State wins doubles point)
1) No. 2 Gloria/Rowe (FS) def. No. 30 Abdala/Abdala (ASU), 8-5
2) No.33 Kucerkova/Petukhova (FS) def. No. 50 Leitch/Pilecka (ASU), 9-8 (4)
3) McKenna/Megale (ASU) def. Beatty/Haskett (FS), 8-4
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
SINGLES
1) No. 16 Melanie Gloria (FS) def. No. 23 Nadia Abdala (ASU) 6-2, 6-0
2) No. 22 Anastasia Petukhova (FS) vs. No. 26 Kelcy McKenna (ASU) 6-3, 4-6, 5-1 DNF
3) Renata Kucerkova (FS) def. Laila Abdala (ASU) 6-1, 6-3
4) * No. 110 Tinesta Rowe (FS) def. Jessica Leitch (ASU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
5) Jacqueline Haskett (FS) vs. Wendy Pilecka (ASU) 7-6 (8), 2-2 DNF
6) Ashlee Brown (ASU) def. Danon Beatty (FS) 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 6, 4
*Clinched match
-WAC-