Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
South Dakota
Tennis recap: Rams blank Coyotes for first 2011 win
2/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 12, 2011
By Zak Gilbert
Athletic Media Relations
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado State’s tennis team turned in one of its most complete overall performances in recent memory late Friday night, shutting out South Dakota 7-0 in a neutral dual at the Air Force Indoor Tennis Courts.
The triumph gave CSU (1-1, 0-0 Mountain West) its first 2011 victory and came against a Coyotes team (5-2) that had won five of its first six matches entering the competition. The Rams also rebounded with an exclamation point after sustaining a tough season-opening loss to Denver Jan. 29.
Friday also marked CSU’s first 7-0 victory since Jan. 30, 2010, when the Rams blanked Portland State in Fort Collins. The last CSU shutout away from home was Feb. 14, 2009, over Eastern Michigan on another neutral court, in Lincoln, Neb.
Junior Tori Arneson, making her career debut Friday at the No. 1 singles position, dispatched USD’s Alena Sergeychik, 6-0, 6-2. Arneson replaced senior Caitlin Fluegge in the Rams’ lineup, allowing Fluegge an opportunity to rest in advance of the Rams’ other two matches this weekend, against Wofford Saturday in Colorado Springs, and against Montana Sunday morning in Fort Collins at Miramont.
Arneson also teamed up with senior Melissa Holzinger, rebounding on an individual level from back pain that had sidelined her for both the fall season and her 2011 singles debut Jan. 29 vs. Denver. The duo gave CSU an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles to help secure the night’s first team point for the Rams.
Holzinger then denied her singles opponent, Ysabel Nunez, at the No. 3 position, Holzinger’s first-ever match that high in the CSU lineup.
Lauren Mulhern, a junior that entered the year having played just one singles match above the No. 5 position, turned in a confidence-building victory in her career debut at the No. 2 slot. She defeated Veronika Makashov, 6-3, 6-0.
Veronika Wojakowska, Kayley Schultz and Lauren Pick also earned singles victories for the Rams. In addition, Fluegge and Wojakowska, and Mulhern and Schultz, began the night with triumphs in their respective doubles tilts.
CSU has little time to celebrate its first victory, or to even sleep for that matter. The Rams are back on the same courts at 8 a.m. Saturday against Wofford (2-1). Like South Dakota, the rested Terriers, from Spartanburg, S.C., also enter their CSU match coming off their own 7-0 victory.
The Rams then return to Fort Collins to meet Montana Sunday at 9 a.m. in an indoors dual at Miramont South, on Oakridge Dr. behind Sam’s Club. Admission is free.
Friday’s results
Doubles
No. 1-Caitlin Fluegge/Veronika Wojakowska (CSU) def. Veronika Makashov/Kelsi Foster, 8-2
No. 2-Lauren Mulhern/Kaley Schultz (CSU) def. Ysabel Nunez/Alena Sergeychik, 8-2
No. 3-Tori Arneson/Melissa Holzinger (CSU) def. Maddy Warder/Marina Kiefer, 8-3
Singles
No. 1-Arneson (CSU) def. Sergeychik, 6-0, 6-2
No. 2-Mulhern (CSU) def. Makashov, 6-3, 6-0
No. 3-Holzinger (CSU) def. Nunez, 6-2, 6-1
No. 4-Wojakowska (CSU) def. Kiefer, 6-3, 6-1
No. 5-Schultz (CSU) def. Warder, 6-0, 6-1
No. 6-Lauren Pick (CSU) def. Foster 6-2, 6-1
Players Mentioned
