Colorado State University Athletics
Tennis preview: CSU set to host home tournament this weekend
10/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Oct. 1, 2015
CSU SET TO HOST HOME TOURNAMENT
Colorado State will host its fall tournament this weekend, facing players from Northern Colorado and Wyoming over the two days (Saturday-Sunday). Action Saturday begins at 10 a.m., with two rounds of doubles before a lunch break. At approximately 1 p.m., the teams will compete in a round of singles. The same format will be used Sunday. The tournament will take place at CSU's University Tennis Complex, located just south of campus.
"It's always more fun to play on our home courts," head coach Jon Messick said. "Players are sleeping in their own beds and we're not traveling; that's one of the reasons we do this event. I'm looking forward to having some spectators out there watching us play."
Wyoming enters the weekend 12-9 in singles play and 5-4 in doubles, having competed in the Mexico Invitational in Cancun and the Air Force Invitational, along with CSU. Northern Colorado also competed in the Air Force Invitational, in addition to Drake's Roger Knapp Invite.
"We've played a lot of tennis over these last couple of weeks, so we're kind of fine tuning some things with the players and getting to know our lineup better," Messick said. "Hopefully after this weekend we'll have a pretty firm grasp of our lineup for regionals."
LOOKING BACK: COLORADO INVITATIONAL
CSU kicked off the Colorado Invitational on a strong note, winning four of six doubles matches. All six student-athletes won at least one doubles match, with the tandem of Aina Hernandez Soler and Madison Porter winning twice - defeating Georgetown both times. Two days later, the tandem beat Georgetown again, while Laia Hernandez Soler and Maddie Buxton went 2-0, defeating Colorado and Georgetown (New Mexico also participated in the tournament).
CSU went 7-5 overall in doubles play. In addition to Porter's pair of doubles victories, she also earned CSU's lone singles win.
"I thought our consistency was better last weekend," Messick said. "I was really pleased with our doubles, which had a winning record. We're really making progress with the technique we're trying to develop with our players. The inconsistency right now is in our singles play, although there were a lot of close matches. We weren't winning them, but I think that's the next step. We're in close matches, now we've got to start winning them."
LOOKING BACK: AIR FORCE INVITATIONAL
CSU opened its 2015-16 season Sept. 18-20 by competing in the eight-team Air Force Invitational. Overall, the Rams went 6-12 in singles play and 2-7 in doubles action, with six different players earning at least one victory. The participating teams included Abilene Christian, Air Force, CSU, Eastern Michigan, Northern Colorado, Texas State, Utah State and Wyoming.
"I liked how competitive we were," Messick said. "I thought we did some things well, but we were inconsistent from one day to the next. That's one thing we need to get better at."
The tournament was the first for freshman Emily Kolbow, who went 2-1 in singles play.
"I was pleased with Kolbow," Messick said. "That was a good start to her collegiate career. (Madison) Porter also played well, going 2-1."
FALL FORMAT
During the Rams' four fall tournaments, head coach Jon Messick said that he wants to try out several different lineups with the focus on determining the best format for the spring season.
"We're just trying to evaluate our players so we know what our lineup is going to be in the spring," Messick said. "In the fall tournaments, we will mix our players around and lineups will probably be different each week. We want to see how everyone fits in, and it's a way to get match results against players from different levels."
BULK RETURNING
Jon Messick enters his 27th season as head coach at Colorado State, and returns the bulk of last year's production, including seven players overall and six of the Rams' eight letterwinners in 2014-15. In total, CSU returns a lineup which won 62 singles matches last season, with four individuals winning at least 10.
Additionally, CSU welcomes two newcomers to its roster. Emily Kolbow is a four-star recruit from Arrowhead Union High School in Hartland, Wis. The four-time conference champion finished in the top three at the WIAA Division I Wisconsin state championships three times during her high-school career. Caroline Henderson comes to CSU with two years of eligibility after spending the beginning of her career at Kansas. She posted three singles victories and two doubles wins as a freshman, before earning two more singles victories during the fall of her sophomore season.
"We're returning seven players, and four of them are seniors," Messick said. "We do have experience, and with adding Caroline Henderson, she has good college experience, as well."
BUILDING OFF OF A STRONG SEASON
CSU is coming off one of its best seasons in recent memory, winning eight matches in the spring, the most since 2011. The biggest win came in April over No. 54 New Mexico. It was the Rams' first victory over a ranked team in at least 11 years, and afterward, Messick called it the biggest win of his lengthy coaching career.
HELPING HAND
For the first time in school history, CSU has a full-time assistant coach. Jarod Camerota brings more than a decade of top-level experience as a coach and recruiter, including last season at Northern Arizona. He also has spent time as an assistant at Northwestern, and as a head coach - either men's, women's or both - at Georgia State, Jacksonville and Mars Hill College.
GETTING IT DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
Five of CSU's seven returnees were recognized during the offseason as Spring 2015 Academic All-Mountain West recipients - Maddie Buxton, Mollie Cooper, Aina Hernandez Soler, Laia Hernandez Soler and Madison Porter. Buxton and Porter were also named Scholar-Athletes by the MW and Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
What's more, the entire team was recognized by the ITA for holding a cumulative grade-point average above a 3.20. It marked the sixth year in a row that Messick's team has been named an ITA All-Academic Team.
UP NEXT
The Rams' fall season closes with the prestigious USTA/ITA Mountain Regional Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. The five-day event (Oct. 14-18) will feature more than 20 of the top teams in the region.
Weekly Release #3 (PDF) | Roster | Schedule
COLORADO STATE INVITATIONAL
- Who: Colorado State, Northern Colorado, Wyoming
- Where: University Tennis Complex, south of campus
- When: Saturday, Oct. 3-Sunday, Oct. 4
- Format: Action begins both days at 10 a.m. with two rounds of doubles, followed by a lunch break and a round of singles play. Doubles will be played to one set, no-ad scoring; Singles will be best two out of three sets, no-ad scoring.
- Cost: Free
- Twitter updates: @CSURamsTennis
CSU SET TO HOST HOME TOURNAMENT
Colorado State will host its fall tournament this weekend, facing players from Northern Colorado and Wyoming over the two days (Saturday-Sunday). Action Saturday begins at 10 a.m., with two rounds of doubles before a lunch break. At approximately 1 p.m., the teams will compete in a round of singles. The same format will be used Sunday. The tournament will take place at CSU's University Tennis Complex, located just south of campus.
"It's always more fun to play on our home courts," head coach Jon Messick said. "Players are sleeping in their own beds and we're not traveling; that's one of the reasons we do this event. I'm looking forward to having some spectators out there watching us play."
Wyoming enters the weekend 12-9 in singles play and 5-4 in doubles, having competed in the Mexico Invitational in Cancun and the Air Force Invitational, along with CSU. Northern Colorado also competed in the Air Force Invitational, in addition to Drake's Roger Knapp Invite.
"We've played a lot of tennis over these last couple of weeks, so we're kind of fine tuning some things with the players and getting to know our lineup better," Messick said. "Hopefully after this weekend we'll have a pretty firm grasp of our lineup for regionals."
LOOKING BACK: COLORADO INVITATIONAL
CSU kicked off the Colorado Invitational on a strong note, winning four of six doubles matches. All six student-athletes won at least one doubles match, with the tandem of Aina Hernandez Soler and Madison Porter winning twice - defeating Georgetown both times. Two days later, the tandem beat Georgetown again, while Laia Hernandez Soler and Maddie Buxton went 2-0, defeating Colorado and Georgetown (New Mexico also participated in the tournament).
CSU went 7-5 overall in doubles play. In addition to Porter's pair of doubles victories, she also earned CSU's lone singles win.
"I thought our consistency was better last weekend," Messick said. "I was really pleased with our doubles, which had a winning record. We're really making progress with the technique we're trying to develop with our players. The inconsistency right now is in our singles play, although there were a lot of close matches. We weren't winning them, but I think that's the next step. We're in close matches, now we've got to start winning them."
LOOKING BACK: AIR FORCE INVITATIONAL
CSU opened its 2015-16 season Sept. 18-20 by competing in the eight-team Air Force Invitational. Overall, the Rams went 6-12 in singles play and 2-7 in doubles action, with six different players earning at least one victory. The participating teams included Abilene Christian, Air Force, CSU, Eastern Michigan, Northern Colorado, Texas State, Utah State and Wyoming.
"I liked how competitive we were," Messick said. "I thought we did some things well, but we were inconsistent from one day to the next. That's one thing we need to get better at."
The tournament was the first for freshman Emily Kolbow, who went 2-1 in singles play.
"I was pleased with Kolbow," Messick said. "That was a good start to her collegiate career. (Madison) Porter also played well, going 2-1."
FALL FORMAT
During the Rams' four fall tournaments, head coach Jon Messick said that he wants to try out several different lineups with the focus on determining the best format for the spring season.
"We're just trying to evaluate our players so we know what our lineup is going to be in the spring," Messick said. "In the fall tournaments, we will mix our players around and lineups will probably be different each week. We want to see how everyone fits in, and it's a way to get match results against players from different levels."
BULK RETURNING
Jon Messick enters his 27th season as head coach at Colorado State, and returns the bulk of last year's production, including seven players overall and six of the Rams' eight letterwinners in 2014-15. In total, CSU returns a lineup which won 62 singles matches last season, with four individuals winning at least 10.
Additionally, CSU welcomes two newcomers to its roster. Emily Kolbow is a four-star recruit from Arrowhead Union High School in Hartland, Wis. The four-time conference champion finished in the top three at the WIAA Division I Wisconsin state championships three times during her high-school career. Caroline Henderson comes to CSU with two years of eligibility after spending the beginning of her career at Kansas. She posted three singles victories and two doubles wins as a freshman, before earning two more singles victories during the fall of her sophomore season.
"We're returning seven players, and four of them are seniors," Messick said. "We do have experience, and with adding Caroline Henderson, she has good college experience, as well."
BUILDING OFF OF A STRONG SEASON
CSU is coming off one of its best seasons in recent memory, winning eight matches in the spring, the most since 2011. The biggest win came in April over No. 54 New Mexico. It was the Rams' first victory over a ranked team in at least 11 years, and afterward, Messick called it the biggest win of his lengthy coaching career.
HELPING HAND
For the first time in school history, CSU has a full-time assistant coach. Jarod Camerota brings more than a decade of top-level experience as a coach and recruiter, including last season at Northern Arizona. He also has spent time as an assistant at Northwestern, and as a head coach - either men's, women's or both - at Georgia State, Jacksonville and Mars Hill College.
GETTING IT DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
Five of CSU's seven returnees were recognized during the offseason as Spring 2015 Academic All-Mountain West recipients - Maddie Buxton, Mollie Cooper, Aina Hernandez Soler, Laia Hernandez Soler and Madison Porter. Buxton and Porter were also named Scholar-Athletes by the MW and Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
What's more, the entire team was recognized by the ITA for holding a cumulative grade-point average above a 3.20. It marked the sixth year in a row that Messick's team has been named an ITA All-Academic Team.
UP NEXT
The Rams' fall season closes with the prestigious USTA/ITA Mountain Regional Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. The five-day event (Oct. 14-18) will feature more than 20 of the top teams in the region.
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