The Bulldogs beat UNLV to remain undefeated at home
The Fresno State men’s tennis team remains undefeated on their home court at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center, after defeating University of Nevada, Las Vegas Sunday afternoon 6-1.
The day kicked off with doubles matches, where the ‘Dogs upset the Rebels, winning two of the three matches.
Rikus de Villiers and Remi Boutillier, No. 23 ranked in the nation, defeated the Rebels’ Mehdi Bouras and Luca Barlocchi, 8-3. Teammates Siddarth Alapati and Mirko Zapletal followed defeating Kasper Konyves and Attila Toth, 8-1. This was the first doubles match Alapati and Zapletal have played together.
“We did not know [we would be playing as a team] until this morning,” Zapletal said.
Alapati said the duo had a slow start but once they go use to one anothers play, they played well.
“It was exciting to play with Mirko,” Alapati said.
Alapati continued his winning streak with a victory over the Rebels’ Charlie Alvarado (7-5, 6-0). With a slow start in the first set, down 3-0, Alapati had to increase his game to get him through the match.
“The second set was easier after I won the first,” Alapati said. “[Charlie Alvarado of UNLV] started making mistakes in the second set, so it was easy for me to clinch it.”
Matt Weir / The Collegian
Alapati’s solid serves and game focus helped him shutout his UNLV opponent in the second set 6-0.
On court one, the Bulldogs were represented by Zapletal and his battle with UNLV’s No. 108 Medhi Bouras.
Tied 6-6 in the second set, Zapletal pulled away with the win (6-3, 7-6).
“It felt good to win a close match, especially in front of the home crowd,” Zapletal said.
David Ayoun clinched the match for the ‘Dogs in his single’s victory over Kasper Konyves (6-3, 6-4).
At the last match of the day, the crowd continued to cheer on teammate Rinkus de Villiers in his dual against Luca Barlocchi. The tension reigned high on the court while de Villiers pulled out a victory to end the day for the ‘Dogs (7-6, 1-6, 6-2).
“Our goal was to come out and play a tough match,” head coach Jay Udwadia said. “UNLV is a tough team. So, anytime you can beat a tough team, we are fortunate to do that.”
The ‘Dogs will hit the road to continue their conference play against San Diego State on Thursday.
Matt Weir / The Collegian