FRESNO, Calif. - Bulldogs Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe lived up to their billing as one of the top doubles teams in the nation.

The Fresno State pair entered the doubles championship with the No. 2 ranking, cruising through the competition all the way to the national title match. Only the top-ranked team of Tracey Lin and Riza Zalameda from UCLA could stop them.

The Bruins were able to stop Fresno State, but the Bulldogs wouldn't go down without a fight. Fresno State force three sets and battled for each game, falling just short of the national title, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6.

"We gave it our best today and left it on the court," said coach Simon Thibodeau. "A point or two could have made the difference."

Fresno State ended its doubles run with a dominating season of 36-9 that saw the Bulldogs ranked at the top of the nation early in the season. This is the second appearance in the doubles final match for Fresno State. In 2006, Lucia Sainz and Katharina Winterhalter rolled through the NCAA Doubles Championship, coming up just shy of winning the national title.

A slow start and a few jitters from the Bulldogs gave UCLA the upper-hand in the first set, as the No. 1 team won 6-2. But Fresno State came back with vengeance in the second set.

In the second set, the Bulldogs won the first three games, winning two of UCLA's serves and one of their own in nearly uncontested succession, to go up 3-0 in the second. Fresno State allowed the Bruins their serve to make the match 3-1. With the serve back on their side, the Bulldogs won the game for a 4-2 lead, but UCLA responded in kind to make it 4-2. But the Bulldogs weren't done, they won their serve without giving up a point, 5-2 Fresno State.

"The second set was a turning point," said Thibodeau. "We started serving better and took care of our serve in the second set."

Down 40-0, the Bulldogs fought back to take the advantage, but UCLA brought it back to 40-40 before taking the advantage and then the game, 5-3. With the momentum on their side, the Bruins won Fresno State's serve to make it closer than it had been for the entire set. The Bulldogs refused to roll over, breaking UCLA's serve to win the set, and force a third set.

"The last set was very, very close," said Thibodeau. "It could have gone either way. A point or two could have made the difference."

The third set began with a contentious first game. The Bruins eventually won the point, but not before each team had held the advantage at least once. Momentarily down, UCLA pounced on the Bulldogs, winning the second and third points to take a 3-0 lead.

Down 3-0, the Bulldogs rallied, to bring the set to 3-2 in succession. The Bruins would win the next game, but Fresno State responded in kind to make it 4-3. But the momentum shifted back to UCLA and the Bruins took the next three games to win the match and the national title.

"It's disappointing for sure," said Thibodeau. "We had some very bad calls, but at the same time we didn't help ourselves. It was a very well-fought match on both sides. It could have gone either way. And Melanie and Tinesta will have another shot next year."