On a slightly windy but brisk day for tennis, the Bulldogs got back on track in a big way, sweeping their doubleheader on Tuesday in front of the home crowd.
The opponents were no slouches. University of Wisconsin, Green Bay came in with a 10-4 record, while Navy boasted a 13-4 mark prior to Tuesday’s action.
Ultimately though, for a surging Bulldogs team, this was a strong step in the right direction.
“For us, it’s just continuing to get a lot of matches,” said Fresno State head coach Evan Austin. “A lot of times, we’re playing four new guys in the lineup at the same time. Just continuing to build confidence, and we talked a lot with the guys today about this really being the second half of our season. [We’re] starting to learn about some of the stuff that has gone right and gone wrong and trying to make those improvements as we go more into conference play.”
An inauspicious beginning kicked off the day, as the Bulldogs dropped the opening doubles point to Green Bay. That, however, would be the last point Fresno State would surrender, as it surged in singles.
Picking up wins that contributed to the victory early were Sai Kartik Nakkarad, Joshua Zeoli, Nikolas Papic and Eric Komati.
The momentum carried on into the afternoon. The Bulldogs jumped on top of the Midshipmen of Navy early in the doubles point and never looked back.
Scoring the first and most definitive of the doubles results were Euan McIntosh and Adam Glynn by a score of 6-1. The two men looked especially confident, as they charged the net and dictated play.
The victory was a bounce back for the pair, as they had been beaten by Green Bay in the morning.
“We kind of sat down with the coaches,” Glynn said. “[We] sorted out a good plan, mixed up a few different tactics and had better energy.”
Komati and Zeoli wrapped up the doubles point with a 6-4 victory, putting the Bulldogs on top 1-0 after an hour of play.
Then the Bulldogs really turned it on.
A dominating effort in singles in which no Fresno State player lost a set was kicked off by Youssef Hassan who was putting on a clinic for aggressive tennis. He finished off his opponent 6-2, 6-1.
“I took advantage of all the opportunities that were given to me,” Hassan said. “I feel like I can dictate play. Only I can go out and win my matches instead of having it handed to me. I think it’s important for me to be aggressive. Otherwise, I’ll beat myself.”
To finish out the 4-0 victory, McIntosh won convincingly on Court 3, while Zeoli finished off the Midshipmen on Court 2.
On each of the remaining courts, Fresno State held a one-set edge, an unneeded cushion as it turned out.
There will be little time for celebration. Fresno State gets right back in action on Thursday against the Arizona Wildcats at 11 a.m. at the Wathen Tennis Center.