2008 NCAA Women's Singles Bracket
2008 NCAA Women's Doubles Bracket
DENVER ? Fresno State’s Melanie Gloria, Tinesta Rowe, Anastasia Petukhova and Renata Kucerkova will begin competition in the 2008 NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Singles and Doubles Championships on Wednesday, May 21, at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla. The doubles tandem of Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe have received the No. 2 seed in the women’s doubles championship and will be joined by teammates Anastasia Petukhova and Renata Kucervova as at-large selections. Gloria and Petukhova will also be participating in the women’s singles championship.
Fresno State junior Melanie Gloria received the WAC’s automatic qualifier for the women’s singles championship, while sophomore Anastasia Petukhova earned an at-large selection in the singles competition. Gloria is the three-time defending WAC Player of the Year and is currently ranked No. 16 in ITA singles after compiling a record of 18-5 as the Bulldogs’ No. 1 singles player. This is Gloria’s third-straight year participating in the NCAA singles championships, with her best finish in 2007, falling in the Round of 16 to Baylor’s Zuzana Zemenova. Sophomore Anastasia Petukhova is currently ranked No. 22 in ITA singles after an impressive 24-3 record as the Bulldogs’ No. 2 singles player, and carries a nine-match winning streak into the NCAA Championships.
Gloria will begin singles action against Georgia Tech’s No. 46-ranked Kirsten Flower at 5:00 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday, May 21. Flower compiled a 25-9 singles record, splitting time at both the No. 4 and No. 5 positions for the Yellow Jackets. Petukhova will square off against Clemson’s No-2 seeded Ani Mijacika at 11:30 a.m. (CT), also on Wednesday, May 21. Mijacika boasts a 28-7 record and has been ranked in the top-five in every ITA singles poll this season. She has six wins over players ranked in the top-10, with 17 total wins over ranked opponents.
Gloria and Rowe received the WAC’s automatic qualifier for the women’s doubles championship, while teammates Petukhova and Kucerkova earned an at-large selection in the doubles competition. Gloria and Rowe are currently ranked No. 2 in ITA doubles after compiling a record of 19-6 as the Bulldogs’ No. 1 doubles tandem, tallying 13 wins over doubles teams on ITA Top 40 teams. Last year, Gloria and Rowe fell in the Round of 32 to Tennessee’s Caitlin Whoriskey and Zsofia Zubor. Petukhova and Kucerkova are currently ranked No. 33 in ITA doubles after an impressive 23-4 record as the Bulldogs’ No. 2 doubles tandem.
Gloria and Rowe will open up doubles action against North Carolina’s No. 15-ranked Sophie Grabinski and Sanaz Marand on Thursday, May 22. Grabinski and Marand earned an at-large bid after finishing 11-8 in dual matches, playing primarily at the Tar Heels No. 1 doubles position. Petukhova and Kucerkova will face off with Florida’s No. 8-ranked Megan Alexander and Marrit Boonstra, also on Thursday, May 22. Alexander and Boonstra earned a spot in the 5-8 seed after logging a 15-3 record in dual matches as the Gators No. 1 doubles tandem.
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