Colorado State University Athletics
CSU Tennis Finishes the 2006-07 Season
4/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 30, 2007
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The Colorado State women's tennis team finished the 2006-07 season with a 10-12 (1-7 MWC) record. The Rams finished in 8th place in the Mountain West Conference regular season and tied for fifth at the MWC Championships.
Changes to Roster The Rams will return 10 members of the 11 player roster for the 2007-08 season and have already made one new addition. CSU's Emily Kirchem will retire from her career with a 15-13 overall singles record, and a 24-2 overall doubles record. Caitlin Fluegge, from Phoenix, Ariz., will join the Rams in the fall after signing a national letter of intent. Fluegge received all state honors in 2004 and 2005, being named 3rd in state in doubles, and 3rd in state in singles, respectively.
Rams Win and Lose at the MWC Championships The Rams defeated Air Force for the second time this year, 4-2, in the first round of the MWC Championships. In the match, Kirchem and Hilary Tyler won their tenth consecutive doubles match and their 22nd on the year, setting a school record for doubles victories by a team in a single season. Sarah Seltsam and Laura Neal picked up a victory at the No. 3 position to give the Rams the team point in doubles. In singles, the Rams won at the Nos. 1, 2, and 3 positions to secure a first round victory.
The Rams then advanced to the quarterfinals, but failed to earn a point in the 4-0 loss to top-seeded BYU and finished tied for fifth in the championships. The Rams dropped the No. 2 and 3 doubles matches, and No. 2, 4, and 5 singles matches, none of the other matches were completed. BYU went on to defeat UNLV in the championships and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Kirchem and Tyler Named to All-MWC Team This was Kirchem's fourth year and Tyler's first to be named an All-MWC player. The No. 1 doubles team of Kirchem and Tyler finished the year with a 17-1 dual record and were 22-2 overall, including a 10-game winning streak to end the year. Their 22 victories sets a school record for a doubles team, bettering the previous record of 21 set by Anne Andersen and Kirchem in the 2005-06 season. Kirchem and Tyler had a 10-1 record against MWC opponents.
Kirchem was also named MWC tennis player of the week March 20th after defeating Colgate's Jackie Couture (6-2, 6-1), Dayton's Kate Mellion (6-0, 6-0) and Bucknell's Paulina Gamboa (6-0, 6-0) in straight sets, losing only three of the 36 games.
Kirchem Records:
-Kirchem took over as leader of career doubles victories at CSU with 72, shattering the previous record of 60 held by Sanja Hansson who played from 2000-03.
-Kirchem took over as leader of career doubles dual victories with 54, breaking the old record of 39 held by three former Rams.
-Kirchem leaves CSU tied for 2nd in career singles victories with Allison Lisle (75), and just two back of the leader, Sanja Hansson.
-Kirchem is also tied for 2nd in career singles dual victories with 53, alongside Catherine Sullivan-Sauvageau, who played for the Rams from 1999-2002; she is five back of the leader Christi Blount.
-Kirchem improved on her previously held record of career doubles dual victories at the No. 1 position, adding 17 victories to stay the leader of the category with 53 wins.