Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
UNLV
CSU tennis concludes second weekend of conference play
4/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 5, 2009
By Mackenzie Altman
Athletic Media Relations
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - - The Colorado State women’s tennis team encountered two tough Mountain West Conference opponents this weekend. The Rams battled with the San Diego State Aztecs and the UNLV Lady Rebels in two closer-than-the-final-score competitions, but came up short.
The Rams (5-10, 0-4 MWC) showcased a strong, tough effort on Sunday against UNLV (15-6, 6-0 MWC) but dropped the match, 7-0, at the Air Force Academy’s indoor courts. The 46th- ranked Lady Rebels are currently in first place in the Mountain West Conference.
After winning two of three doubles matches Saturday, earning the doubles point against San Diego State, the Rams had confidence heading into Sunday’s match against UNLV, Head Coach Jon Messick said.
“We were feeling real good about doubles and we were close today at No. 2 and No. 3,” he said. “We had chances to turn the match around and we played pretty well.
In doubles, Laura Neal/Lauren Strasburger were defeated by Kristina Nedeltcheva/Katy Williams at the No.1 spot, 8-1. The Rams’ pair of Tori Arneson/Caitlin Fluegge, playing at the No.2 doubles, fell 8-5 to Alisa Razina/Anna Maskaljun. At the No. 3 spot, Greer Satherlie/Kirsten Stople dropped their match to Nikol Dimitrova/Rumyana Terzieva, 8-5.
In singles, Messick said, the Rams’ goal was to make UNLV play hard.
“We wanted to extend each match point and we achieved our goal by keeping UNLV on the court,” he said.
“We could have beaten them because we had all four leads at one point, which would have clinched the match for us. I was really pleased with the girls’ performance. We put ourselves into a good position in the first four matches. I have to give it to UNLV because they came back but then we would come back and then they would come back. The matches were extremely close.”
The Rams stuck with the Lady Rebels, battling through see-saw matches. The Rams fought for three solid sets at the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 positions. Neal played a solid game against Nedeltcheva, ranked 125th in the nation, but fell 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, at No. 1. Strasburger rallied against Dimitrova at No. 2 but was defeated 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.
At No. 3, Arneson powerfully fought against Williams but lost 6-1, 5-7, 6-1; Satherlie was ahead of Hidvegi at the No. 4 but Hidvegi came back to take the match 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
“We improved from yesterday to today, overnight,” said Messick. “UNLV is undefeated and has the chance to be the No. 1 seed. I am proud of the girls’ because we stood up to the No. 1 team. We feel good about our performance this weekend and we have a lot of confidence going into next weekend and the conference tournament.”
San Diego State Results
The Rams fell to San Diego State on Saturday, 6-1, at the Air Force Academy. Defeating the Rams, the Aztecs picked up a second win in their Mountain West Conference season.
In doubles action, Neal and Strasburger defeated the Ellison sisters, Roxanne and Sierra, 8-3 at the No. 1 position. In the No. 2 spot, the pair of Satherlie and Stople defeated Emma Cioffi and Ester Cadua, 8-6. The win clinched the doubles point for the Rams. The No. 3 doubles team of Arneson and Fluegge fell to No. 58 Holly Bagshaw and Julia Trunk, 8-5.
“Yesterday was awesome,” Messick said. “I would say that it was our best doubles playing all season.”
Despite having a 1-0 advantage over the Aztecs, the Rams struggled to pull through in singles play, in which the Aztecs swept the Rams 6-0.
The Rams return to the court April 10 when they meet up with No. 28 TCU in Albuquerque, N.M.
Sunday’s Results (against UNLV)
Singles:
No. 1: #125 Kristina Nedeltcheva (UNLV) def. Laura Neal (CSU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
No. 2: Nikol Dimitrova (UNLV) def. Lauren Strasburger (CSU), 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
No. 3: Katy Williams (UNLV) def. Tori Arneson (CSU), 6-1, 5-7, 6-1
No. 4: Adrienn Hidvegi (UNLV) def. Greer Satherlie (CSU), 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
No. 5: Anna Maskaljun (UNLV) def. Kirsten Stople (CSU), 8-5
No. 6: Rumyana Terzieva (UNLV) def. Caitlin Fluegge (CSU), 8-2
Doubles:
No. 1: Nedeltcheva/Williams (UNLV) def. Neal/Strasburger (CSU), 8-1
No. 2: Alisa Razina/Maskaljun (UNLV) def. Arneson/Fluegge (CSU), 8-5
No. 3: Dimitrova/Terzieva (UNLV) def. Satherlie/Stople (CSU), 8-5
Saturday’s Results (against SDSU)
Singles:
No. 1: Holly Bagshaw (SDSU) def. Lauren Strasburger (CSU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 2: Julia Trunk (SDSU) def. Laura Neal (CSU), 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 3: Esther Cadua (SDSU) def. Tori Arneson (CSU), 6-0, 6-1
No. 4: Emma Cioffi (SDSU) def. Greer Satherlie (CSU), 7-5, 6-4
No. 5: Roxanne Ellison (SDSU) def. Kirsten Stople (CSU), 6-1, 6-0
No. 6: Olivia Colman (SDSU) def. Caitlin Fluegge (CSU), 6-4, 6-2
Doubles:
No. 1: Neal/Strasburger (CSU) def. Ellison/Ellison (SDSU), 8-3
No. 2: #58 Bagshaw/Trunk (SDSU) def. Arneson/Fluegge (CSU), 8-5
No. 3: Satherlie/Stople (CSU) def. Cioffi/Cadua (SDSU), 8-6
Players Mentioned
