The Cowgirl tennis (11-8) team’s postseason came to a close Saturday at the 2014 MW Tennis Championships in Fresno, Calif. The Cowgirls defeated Boise State (13-10) 4-3 early in the day but were eliminated from the final championship rounds after a 4-1 loss to the Fresno State Bulldogs (16-8).
“Congratulations to Fresno State for a match well played,” head coach Dean Clower told gowyo.com. “I thought we came out a little too passive, which you don’t get away with against good teams. We played well in singles and I’m proud of their fight and resiliency to not go away. Silviya (Zhelyazkova) and Christa (Gecheva) have been getting better all year long and the results showed that.”
Entering the quarterfinals for their fourth consecutive year, Wyoming (#5) faced the fourth seed Boise State Broncos in a tension-filled match.
Beginning in singles, Fresno State senior Anissa Bryant-Swift defeated freshman Dorottya Jonas 6-4, 6-0 followed by senior Veronica Popovici taking a point back for Wyoming over senior Sandy Vo 6-4, 7-6.
The singles matches were neck-and-neck over the next four match-ups. Junior Silviya Zhelyazkova fell 7-6, 0-6, 6-0 in a three-set loss. The lost point was quickly recovered by redshirt freshman Alena Vasileva with a 6-4, 7-5 win over her opponent. Junior Christa Gecheva had a loss (6-4, 6-7, 2-6) trailed by a win from junior Alma Espinosa (0-6, 7-6, 7-5).
“This was a battle just like we expected it to be,” said Clower. “We were down the entire match and the players kept grinding it out. In the end, it just came down to the team being flat out Cowgirl tough. Alma has earned the respect of not only myself and the team but the whole league for her resiliency.”
Going into doubles, the match was tied 3-all; the Cowgirls pulled away with the final point with wins from Popovici and Jonas (8-3) and from Vasileva and Zhelyazkova (8-5).
The Cowgirls advanced to the semi-finals against the top seed Bulldogs, meeting for the first time this season.
The Bulldogs stepped ahead with the lead winning two of the three doubles matches. Wyoming’s Vasileva and Zhelyazkova took the only double match for UW over FSU’s redshirt junior Tanya Murtagh and junior Anne Susdorf, 8-5.
In singles, Popovici, the first to finish, took a loss 2-6, 1-6. Gecheva in the fourth slot, second to finish, came out on top 6-3, 6-3. Espinosa fell 4-6, 2-6 as did Zhelyazkova 6-7, 2-6. Fresno took the match 4-1 and the last two singles went unfinished.
“I’m so proud of this team in regards to their effort and willingness to learn,” said Clower. “They have had obstacles to overcome all year long and found ways to persevere. This is a very special team and I’m lucky to have been a part of them.”
Fresno State went on to defeat the second-seeded New Mexico Lobos (4-2) and win the 2014 MW Women’s Tennis Championship for the first time ever. After 12 consecutive wins, the Bulldogs will enter the 2014 NCAA Tournament with the MW’s automatic bid.
