Colorado State University Athletics
CSU tennis travels to face SDSU, No. 51 UNLV
4/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 10, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Colorado State women's tennis team will look for its first conference win as it heads to San Diego, Calif., to face No. 51 UNLV Saturday and San Diego State Sunday. Both matches are set for 11 a.m. MDT.
The Rams will face their sixth consecutive ranked conference opponent in No. 51 UNLV before meeting their first unranked conference foe in SDSU. Facing ranked opponents in their last five matches, the Rams (6-8, 0-4 MWC) are currently on a five-match skid, their longest since dropping six straight to finish the 2001-02 season.
Over the weekend, the Rams faced two conference foes, No. 39 BYU and No. 54 Utah. In the matches, four different singles players and two different doubles teams captured wins against the ranked opponents. On Saturday, facing Utah, two players ended five-match skids as Laura Neal won at the No. 2 spot and Caitlin Fluegge won at No. 5 singles, giving her a team-high 15 singles wins.
Sarah Seltsam and Kirsten Stople earned the Rams' only doubles victory over BYU Friday, and the pair holds a team-high nine doubles wins. Lauren Strasburger and Hilary Tyler captured a win over Utah at the No. 1 spot.
No. 51 UNLV (11-8, 3-2 MWC) has faced a total of 12 ranked opponents in 2008, as high as No. 3 Stanford. Of the 12 matchups, the Rebels have won four, including BYU and New Mexico. UNLV is led by senior Elena Gantcheva, who is currently ranked No. 35 in singles and No. 48 in doubles, alongside Kristina Nedeltcheva. The Rebels are set to face Wyoming Friday.
San Diego State (7-13, 0-6 MWC) is currently on a five-match losing streak, with all five losses coming against ranked conference opponents. The Aztecs have earned a victory over a ranked opponent this spring, defeating No. 69 Pennsylvania on March 8. SDSU is led by junior Holly Bagshaw who holds a 15-15 singles record competing at Nos. 1 and 2. She is 10-7 in doubles alongside senior Eliska Krausova. The squad will play Air Force Friday before matching up with the Rams.
"We are expecting tough matches with both teams. From one spot in the lineup to the next, we'll have a shot," said Head Coach Jon Messick. "It's just a matter of having the whole team play well on the same day."
The Rams' match against Northern Colorado, which was rained out Wednesday, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 15 at Fossil Creek Park at 2:30 p.m.
