April 13, 2007
FRESNO, Calif. - The Santa Clara women's tennis team took on the nation's 12th ranked team, the Fresno State Bulldogs, on Friday afternoon and fell 7-0 on the road. The highlight of the day came in doubles for SCU as No. 1 pair Casey Knutson and Erika Barnes pulled off one of the biggest wins in program history, defeating Renata Kucerkova and Anastasia Petukhova 9-7. Kucerkova and Pethukova are ranked No. 39 in the nation in doubles. Knutson and Barnes have now won 11 doubles matches in the dual season for Santa Clara, which fell to 6-11 with the loss.
Knutson and Barnes have had a stellar senior season in doubles for the Broncos and the win against the Bulldogs ranks among the best in school history. The pair has won seven of its past nine matches and is now tied for sixth all-time in career doubles wins in program history with 17. Their 14 wins as a pair this season leaves them just two wins shy of the school's all-time record for single season wins, set in 1992 by Kathleen Curry and Jill Yokoyama.
While Knutson and Barnes won their doubles match 9-7, the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams could not overcome the highly-touted Bulldogs and Fresno State earned the doubles point.
In singles, Knutson fell to the nation's No. 2 player, Melanie Gloria and Stephanie Galainena lost to the nation's No. 41 player Kucerkova in straight sets.
The rest of the singles lineup also fell in straight sets, but the Broncos did compete well against one of the best teams in the country.
SCU continues its road trip on Saturday, April 14, taking on Cal Poly at 12 noon in San Luis Obispo. The match marks the last road contest of the season for the Broncos.
No. 12 Fresno State def. Santa Clara 7-0
Singles:
1. FS #2 Melanie Glora def. SCU Casey Knutson 6-1, 6-0
2. FS #41 Renata Kucerkova def. SCU Stephanie Galainena 6-0, 6-0
3. FS Tinesta Rowe def. SCU Kim Daniel 6-1, 6-1
4. FS Vanessa Heroux def. SCU Lindsay McBride 6-3, 6-0
5. FS Jacqui Haskett def. SCU Erika Barnes 6-0, 6-3
6. FS Bruna Paes def. SCU Meghan Madden 6-1, 6-2
Doubles:
1. SCU Erika Barnes/Casey Knutson def. FS #39 Renata Kucerkova/Anastasia Petukhova 9-7
2. FS Danon Beatty/Vanessa Heroux def. SCU Stephanie Galainena/Lindsay McBride 8-3
3. FS Jacqui Haskett/Bruna Paes def. SCU Kim Daniel/Meghan Madden 8-1