Colorado State University Athletics
Tennis fall review: Rams prepare for spring dual season
12/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Dec. 11, 2009
By Justin Warren
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Colorado State tennis team concluded its fall tournament season in Las Vegas, Nev., at the ITA Mountain Region Championship on Oct. 18, and now the Rams look to begin their spring season against Denver on Jan. 22.
“I think in the fall we started out a little slow and as we went, we identified a lot of things we need to work on and get better at,” Head Coach Jon Messick said. “I think by the end of the fall we made a lot of progress with the team. We had some good performances at regionals and by the end of the fall season we got back on track.”
“In the spring our main challenge is to continue with what we built up during the fall and keep improving,” Messick added. “The goal is to be playing at a high level with confidence by the time we hit our conference schedule.”
BYU Invitational…
The Rams began their fall tournament season in Provo, Utah, where junior Caitlin Fluegge shined. Fluegge was knocked out of the main draws during the first day of competition, but fought her way to the “A” singles backdraw finals. Fluegge was defeated by BYU’s Romina Nedakovic, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, on the third day of competition.
In her début for CSU, sophomore transfer Veronika Wojakowska earned her first victory in a Rams uniform against Taylor Perry of Utah State, 7-5, 6-1, in the first round of the “A” singles.
Wyoming/CU Invitational…
From Sept. 25 -27, CSU had its busiest weekend of the fall, competing in two tournaments, the Wyoming Invitational in Laramie, Wyo., and the CU Invitational in Boulder, Colo.
Two players, senior Laura Neal and sophomore Tori Arneson, were sent to compete in Boulder with the company of assistant coach Mallory Voelker. The pair racked up one win in doubles competition and Neal received her first win of the season in singles on the second day of competition.
In Wyoming, Fluegge continued to impress, knocking out Greyce Farias of Wichita State, 6-2, 6-2, in the first round of the gold singles main draw. Fluegge fell in the second round, but sophomore Lauren Mulhern stepped up and earned the Rams their first finals win of the season in the brown singles backdraw.
Air Force Invitational…
On Oct. 3, the Rams traveled south to Colorado Springs, Colo., for three days of competition in the Air Force Invitaitonal.
For the second consecutive week, Mulhern continued to improve, earning CSU two backdraw finals wins. Mulhern defeated Mahdi Besovic of Oregon, 2-0, ret., in the singles Flight 7 backdraw and then teamed up with Wojakowska to knock off the Air Force team of Conley andYoung, 8-3, to claim the doubles Flight 3 backdraw.
ITA Mountain Regional Championship…
Messick and five Rams, Neal, Arneson, Fluegge, Mulhern and Wojakowska, traveled to Las Vegas, Nev., to conclude the fall tournament season at the ITA Mountain Regional Championship on Oct.18.
The five athletes combined for 10 total victories in both singles and doubles competition.
Fall statistics…
• Mulhern and Fluegge currently lead the team in singles with six wins each.
• Neal and Arneson are tied for second in singles wins with five.
• Mulhern and Wojakowska lead the Rams in doubles with a 5-2 record.
Departing Ram…
Manar Al-Jazzaf, a senior nutrition and food science major from Mishref, Kuwait, will graduate from CSU in December. Al-Jazzaf was named a 2008-09 MWC scholar athlete with a GPA of 3.51.
In her three and a half years at CSU, Al-Jazzaf has competed in three fall tournaments, compiling 11 wins in both singles and doubles.
National Letters of Intent…
On Nov. 11, Messick announced the addition of two new athletes for the 2010-11 season, Lauren Pick from Albuquerque, N. M., and Kaley Schultz from Poway, Calif. Shultz is ranked 199th nationally, and Pick is a three-time 4A New Mexico state high school singles champion.