Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Eastern Washington
CSU tennis team dominates Eastern Washington at home, 6-1
3/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 21, 2009
By Zak Gilbert
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Tori Arneson registered a significant win at the No. 2 singles position and the Colorado State tennis team turned away Eastern Washington, 6-1, Saturday afternoon at Miramont Lifestyle Fitness.
"Everybody stepped up today," Head Coach Jon Messick said. "Everyone was playing either one or two spots above where they normally play. I was really pleased with our confidence, with the ability to play higher in the lineup, and play well."
Arneson, a true freshman from Ogden, Utah, battled through a see-saw match against Rachel Berger, in a contest that saw neither player lead by more than two games. In her second set, Arneson erased a 3-2 deficit and took the last two games to win, 6-4, 6-4. The diminutive but powerful athlete now is 2-0 at the No. 2 position, after another win there Thursday.
"She played a difficult player," Messick said after Arneson's match Saturday. "We asked Tori to step up and be aggressive, and by the end of the match, she was doing that very well. She learned how to play against an opponent with an unorthodox style. For a freshman to step up and adapt to that style and level of play, I thought, was very impressive."
Her win Saturday put CSU up 4-0 in the team score, clinching a victory for the Rams (4-6, 0-0 Mountain West). Arneson also prevented Berger from tying her school's career record for individual victories.
Colorado State won its second straight match, defeating a red-hot Eagles team (7-6, 0-0 Big Sky) that had won three straight duals. Less than 24 hours earlier, the Rams had returned home from the other side of the country, after a spring break win Thursday in Hilton Head, S.C., over Rhodes College.
CSU also picked up important momentum heading into the Mountain West Conference schedule, which begins Thursday at BYU. The Rams didn't lose a single set until freshman Lauren Mulhern, at No. 6 singles, took Heather Handwerk to a first-set tiebreaker three and-a-half hours into the afternoon.
Arneson moved up to the No. 2 position with Lauren Strasburger continuing to battle back soreness. Strasburger, normally CSU's No. 1 singles player, competed in doubles but sat out the singles portion of the dual, with conference matches on the horizon.
In Strasburger's place, Laura Neal continued to perform well at the No. 1 position. Neal notched her second straight win in that slot, denying the Eagles' Amanda Mankovits, 6-1, 6-3. Her win came minutes after Greer Satherlie recorded a victory in her first season appearance at the No. 3 position, a quick 6-3, 6-2 triumph over EWU's Caitlin Bampton.
Kirsten Stople also won in straight sets, again replacing Caitlin Fluegge (illness) at No. 4 singles and winning, 6-2, 6-2, over the Eagles' Kasie King.
CSU got on the scoreboard first, winning the initial team point by taking two of three doubles matches from EWU. Neal and Arneson clinched the point when they toppled the Eagles' Mankovits and Berger, 8-4.
Now, the Rams begin the most important stretch of their season, with a formidable road trip to open conference play, at BYU Thursday and at Utah Friday.
Saturday's Results:
Doubles
No. 1: Neal/Arneson (CSU) def. Mankovits/Demerath (EWU), 8-4
No. 2: Liening/Berger (EWU) def. Stople/Strasburger (CSU), 8-5
No. 3: Satherlie/Xu (CSU) def. Bampton/King (CSU), 8-6
Singles
No. 1: Laura Neal (CSU) def. Amanda Mankovits (EWU), 6-1, 6-3
No. 2: Tori Arneson (CSU) def. Rachel Berger (EWU), 6-4, 6-4
No. 3: Greer Satherlie (CSU) def. Caitlin Bampton (EWU), 6-3, 6-2
No. 4: Kirsten Stople (CSU) def. Kasie King (EWU), 6-2, 6-2
No. 5: Rui Xu (CSU) def. Judy Liening (EWU), 6-3, 6-2
No. 6: Heather Handwerk (EWU) def. Lauren Mulhern (CSU), 7-6 (5), 7-5
