Rebuilding with a title in sight

Fresno State women's tennis aims for a fourth straight WAC title after losing last season's NCAA runner-up in singles

By MAGGIE THACH

It’s a rebuilding year for Fresno State women’s tennis. The team lost its No. 1 singles player, Jelena Pandzic, because of eligibility issues. It has just six scholarship players, and at least three of them have been through sickness and injury for most of the season.

But, with a No. 55 ranking, the Bulldogs still plan on winning the conference title.

“Some schools rebuild and don't win anything,” said Simon Thibodeau, the women’s tennis coach. “We rebuild and we still have a chance to win the WAC tournament.”

Winning the WAC title would cap off a memorable career for senior Lucia Tallo. Tallo, who has battled a wrist injury since the first match of the season, has won a conference championship in each of her first three years in a Bulldogs uniform.

“It would just be a great success,” Tallo said. “We’ve dominated the past three years. This year will be a little bit tougher winning the WAC, but it’s still one of our goals.”

Pandzic, who was the NCAA runner-up in singles competition as a freshman, was one of the reasons the Bulldogs were successful last season. But she was declared ineligible because of a match played overseas for a team the NCAA considered professional.

But the Bulldogs have managed to do well without Pandzic. Tallo’s victory against Portland’s Alyson Tyson on Sunday afternoon at the Wathen Tennis Center gave her 76 career singles wins, tying Simone Jardim for fifth place in school history.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” said Jardim, now a Fresno State assistant. “She was my teammate for one year and I know what kind of player she is. This was a rough year for her, but she’s a tough player.

She’s very determined and focused.”

Though Tallo said her place in the record book is a great honor, nothing is more important to her and her teammates than winning the conference title.

“Winning WAC is a big one,” said 92nd-ranked Katharina Winterhalter, who is the team’s No. 1 player and defeated Portland’s Sanja Indic 6-1, 6-2 on Sunday. “Our ranking isn’t that great, so if we want to go to the NCAA tournament, we have to win [the WAC].”

Only one team has won the conference title four consecutive times. Not since Bringham Young University won the title from 1993-1996 has a team in the WAC been as dominant as the Bulldogs. Fresno State’s biggest competition is No. 38 Rice.

The loss of Pandzic has forced her teammates to play at a higher level. Every player has moved up at least one spot in the lineup and, according to Lucia Sainz, the team’s No. 3 player, everybody has to work harder for the team to win.

“With Jelena, we had every singles match point,” said Sainz, who cruised to a win Sunday. “We could always count on a win from her. Now, as a team, we have to win more matches to get the team victory.”

Even with the loss of Pandzic, and the shuffling of positions, the players feel like they are in a good position to compete for their fourth consecutive WAC crown.

“Everyone is there. We’re playing at a high level,” said Winterhalter. “We just need consistency.”

Sunday’s 7-0 win against Portland was the Bulldogs’ third victory of the weekend. The first two came from a sweep over Loyola Marymount and St. Mary’s on Saturday. The No. 43-ranked doubles team of Courtney Jantz and Sainz won its match 8-3, and the No.2 and No. 3 doubles teams followed suit, sweeping the doubles competition.

“We’re winning against the teams were supposed to,” Winterhalter said.

The wins provided confidence for the team, which will be heading into the WAC tournament April 22-24 in Honolulu.

“[The Portland match] doesn’t help us in the rankings, but it gives us confidence,” Thibodeau said. “We’re 11-8 this year. We’re used to being in the top 20, but hopefully we can win the WAC and get in the top 30.”

Before the WAC tournament, Fresno State faces No. 75 Cal Poly and finishes the regular season against No. 71 Pacific at home.