Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Cal State Fullerton
Tennis recap: Rams open road trip on positive note
3/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 15, 2010
By Zak Gilbert
Athletic Media Relations
FULLERTON, Calif. - Colorado State's tennis team got dominating victories from its Nos. 3-6 singles players to open its spring break road trip firmly on the right foot with a 5-2 triumph over Cal State Fullerton Monday on the Titan Courts.
The Rams (5-6, 0-0 Mountain West) not only opened a two-dual road trip in strong fashion but also registered their season's first road victory as a team, and first outdoors triumph of the 2010 season, rebounding from outdoor losses at New Mexico State and UTEP last month.
Head Coach Jon Messick was proud of his team's endurance, despite the 84-degree conditions in Orange County.
"It was a tough match," he said, "really warm. With the heat, it was a hard, physical match, but the kids played well."
One of those kids, Caitlin Fluegge, improved her dual record to 5-5 by clinching Wednesday's CSU victory with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Erin Wiesener at No. 3 singles.
"I thought the whole team played well," Messick said, "even in matches we lost, up and down the lineup, it was a team win. Even in the matches we lost, we did some good things."
Some of those good things were straight-sets wins at No. 6 singles from Melissa Hozinger (6-0, 6-0 over Lani Agsalud), at No. 4 from Veronika Wojakowska (6-2, 6-2 over Malorie de la Cruz) and at No. 5 from Lauren Mulhern (6-3, 7-5 over Jerusha Cruz). For the second straight match, Holzinger dominated her opponent. She now has surrendered only three games over her last four sets, including a 6-2, 6-1 victory March 6.
Also for the second straight match, CSU won the doubles point by taking two of the three doubles matches to begin the competition.
The Titans (1-8, 0-4 Big West Conference) managed to outlast CSU's top two players, No. 1 Laura Neal and No. 2 Tori Arneson, in grueling matches at the top of the lineup, for their only team points on the day. Many of the Rams' matches had concluded by the time Fullerton's Tiffany Mai finished her first set with a narrow 7-5 win over Neal.
CSU will remain at its Newport Beach, Calif., hotel, practicing at courts that are walking distance from the players' rooms, until the Rams return to the Titan Courts to finish their spring-break trip against Houston Thursday. First serve is 3 p.m. MT.
Messick said the ability to practice outdoors, in Colorado before this trip and in Southern California during the trip, is key to any success the team enjoys over the balance of the season. What's more, Monday's victory gave the Rams important momentum heading into their spring-break finale against the Cougars Thursday, before kicking off the conference schedule.
"It's big because Houston's probably a better team, although the team we played today was pretty good," Messick said. "It gives us confidence going into the next match. If we lose today, rebounding Thursday would have been a lot harder task."
Monday's results
Singles
No. 1: Tiffany Mai (CSF) def. Laura Neal (CSU), 7-5, 6-2
No. 2: Monica Rodriguez (CSF) def. Tori Arneson (CSU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 3: Caitlin Fluegge (CSU) def. Erin Wiesener (CSF), 6-1, 6-3
No. 4: Veronika Wojakowska (CSU) def. Malorie de la Cruz (CSF), 6-2, 6-2
No. 5: Lauren Mulhern (CSU) def. Jerusha Cruz (CSF), 6-3, 7-5
No. 6: Melissa Holzinger (CSU) def. Lani Agsalud (CSF), 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1: Mai-Rodriguez (CSF) def. Neal-Fluegge (CSU), 8-6
No. 2: Arneson-Holzinger (CSU) def. Wiesener-Cruz (CSF), 8-5
No. 3: Mulhern-Wojakowska (CSU) def. de la Cruz-Agsalud (CSF), 8-2
