Juan Villa / The Collegian

With the arrival of the fall season, the women̢۪s tennis team has high expectations for the upcoming season and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) preseason singles and doubles rankings reflect the expectations the Bulldogs have for themselves.

Fresno State returns nearly every player from last season and is the only school in the country with two doubles teams in the Top 8 of the ITA preseason rankings.

The rankings were released a week ago and feature the Bulldog duo of Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe as the top doubles team in the nation.

Returning players nationally ranked

In addition, Anastasia Petukhova and Renata Kucerkova are ranked No. 8 in the nation for doubles.

“The rankings are accurate and based on last year’s success. Melanie and Tinesta finished last year at No. 2, but the No. 1 team were seniors,â€Â coach Simon Thibodeau said. “Anastasia and Renata won an unbelievable 45 matches last year and are very deserving of the 8 spot.â€Â

Gloria and Rowe reached the final of the NCAA Tournament in doubles last season, while Petukhova and Kucerkova reached the semi-final.

All four earned First Team All-American honors.

The Bulldogs fare well in the singles department as well. The Bulldogs are represented with Gloria at No. 12, Petukhova at No. 16 and Rowe at No. 86.

“We have a lot of room for improvement in singles, but are very happy to be recognized nationally in the rankings,â€Â Gloria said.

“We will definitely have more singles players ranked this year. I feel Renata was deserving of a Top 100 singles ranking as she defeated numerous ranked players last season. She will have to prove it once again this year,â€Â Thibodeau added.

Trying for Top 10

The Bulldogs took part in their first exhibition game of the season last Saturday and found out their depth is what might get them over the hump this year.

“We’ve been extremely close to the Top 10 in the last couple years,â€Â Rowe said. “Sometimes a point here or there has separated us from the Top 10, and I feel this year could be the year we go from a good team to an elite team.â€Â

The Bulldogs come in ranked 16th in the nation as a team. They lost in the round of 16 last season, and every team that lost in the round of 16 last year is ranked between No. 9-16 this season.

“I feel it is fair to be there at the moment,â€Â Thibodeau said. “This year, with the arrival of two talented freshmen and the improvement and learning experience of our seniors, I feel much better deep down our lineup, especially when we measure up against the Top 10 teams.â€Â

Looming team turnover puts pressure on coach

The Bulldogs are confident about winning their doubles points against any team in the nation, but that is only one point out of seven. They know they must be much more consistent in singles to take it to the next level.

“We need to go out there and execute our shots,â€Â Gloria said. “Winning in doubles gives us momentum going into singles play, but we need to play with the same intensity in singles from the No. 1 to No. 6 position.â€Â

The Bulldogs̢۪ window of opportunity might be closing soon though. They have had the same team the last two years and will be losing four key members at the end of the season, including Gloria and Rowe.

This adds a bit more pressure on Thibodeau.

“I need to improve our quality of practices and find and create new drills to get the team better and smarter. Certainly, I want to be somewhere in the Top 10, but I’ll need a complete team effort and performance every time we take the court,â€Â Thibodeau said. “If we dig deep, we’ll take it to that next level.â€Â

The Bulldogs begin their season Friday in Berkeley for the Nike Invitational.