Colorado State University Athletics
Tennis Preview: San Diego State, UNLV
4/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Weekly Recap: The Colorado State women?s tennis team went 1-1 over the weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico. On April 3, the Rams defeated the Air Force Academy 4-2. The following day CSU fell to the No. 32 ranked Lobos of New Mexico 7-0. The Rams move to 10-6 on the season and 2-1 in Mountain West Conference play. Colorado State will continue conference play when they head to San Diego, California, on April 9 when they face San Diego State. On April 10 the Rams will go head-to-head against the No. 48 ranked Rebels of UNLV. The Rams currently hold the No. 3 position in MWC behind New Mexico (No. 2) and BYU (No. 1).
Air Force... Colorado State continued its winning streak to six in a row with a win over Air Force 4-2. CSU is now 8-5 all-time against the Falcons and have won the last two meetings. The Rams won 5-of-6 singles matches and 1-of-3 doubles matches in the victory. Colorado State was without junior Dasha Zhurin who sprained her ankle in warm-ups. Freshman Emily Kirchem filled in her spot at the No. 1 position. In singles action, Emily Kirchem stepped into the No. 1 position and defeated Laura Nigro in a close match 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. Freshman Charity Malone defeated Karissa Walker at the No. 3 spot in straight sets 7-6, 6-4. Tatyana Ugorich and Alexandra Paganetti also had wins for the Rams. In doubles play, Air Force won 2-of-3 matches to steal the doubles point. The lone win for the Rams came from the team of Alexandra Paganetti and Tatyana Ugorich who defeated Tomkie/Crail 8-3.
New Mexico... Colorado State fell to No. 32 New Mexico 7-0 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, giving UNM a perfect 7-0 home record for the season. CSU is now 0-3 against ranked opponents on the year. The Rams are now 0-9 all-time against the Lobos and move to 2-1 in Mountain West Conference play. The loss ended a six match winning streak by CSU. The Rams were without No.1 singles player Dasha Zhurin who suffered a severe ankle sprain in warm-ups against Air Force. In singles action, Maja Kovacek of New Mexico defeated Emily Kirchem at the No. 1 position in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. The loss ended Kirchem?s eight game winning streak and moves her to 13-3 in dual match play. Sophomore Carla Pallares playing the No. 2 position fell to Iva Gersic in straights sets 6-2, 6-0. Junior Tatyana Ugorich suffered her first loss in six matches to Michelle Heidbrink at the No. 4 position in straight sets 6-2, 6-2. The Rams have now won six out of their last seven matches.
Looking Ahead: The Colorado State Rams will continue Mountain West Conference play on April 9, in San Diego, California, when CSU faces the No. 69 ranked San Diego State Aztecs at 2 p.m. The following day the Rams will go head-to-head against the No. 43 ranked Rebels of UNLV at 10 a.m. Colorado State is 0-3 on the season against ranked opponents. The Rams have lost to No. 68 University of Nebraska, No. 54 Boise State, and No. 32 New Mexico. Other teams ranked on the schedule for Colorado State include: BYU (#19), San Diego State (#69), and UNLV (#48).
San Diego State: The No. 69 ranked San Diego State Aztecs carry a 5-11 overall record and are 1-1 in Mountain West Conference play. The Rams are 0-8 all-time against the Aztecs and the last meeting between the teams was last year in Las Vegas, Nevada, where SDSU defeated CSU 5-2. The Aztecs are coming off a 7-0 loss to No. 51 Tulsa (13-6) and will play UNLV before competing against the Rams.
UNLV: The No. 48 ranked Rebels of UNLV carry a 11-5 overall record and are 1-1 in Mountain West Conference play. The Rams are 1-5 all-time against UNLV and the last meeting between the teams was last year in Las Vegas, Nevada, where UNLV defeated Colorado State 5-2. The Rebels are coming off a 6-1 loss to No. 9 ranked UCLA (13-5).
Kirchem Earns MWC Honors: Colorado State freshman Emily Kirchem was named Mountain West Conference Women?s Tennis Player of the Week on March 31. Kirchem, from Fairview, Oregon, led Colorado State to a 2-0 record last week, posting a pair of victories at the No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles positions. In CSU?s 5-2 win over conference foe Wyoming, she beat Yuliani Santi in straight sets (6-1, 6-1) and, along with Dasha Zhurin, defeated Santi and Jennifer Hancock, 8-3. Against Northern Colorado, Kirchem blanked Meredith Krystofik, 6-0, 6-0, and teamed with Zhurin to beat Jan Ikeda and Renee Nuccio (8-2).
