Rams Open Season With Convincing Win Over Metro State

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – This was going to be a good weekend for Emily Luetschwager, regardless of what happened Saturday.

Besides, the senior wasn't feeling overly confident as Colorado State's women's tennis team opened the season with a home dual against Metro State at the Fort Collins Country Club. Too much time had passed between matches, and the few tournaments she played this summer had not gone well. Practice has been sporadic.

At least Friday she had received acceptance to her first choice for graduate school, so that would soften any blow.

She didn't need it, as she rolled at the top spot in singles and doubles for the Rams, part of a 7-0 sweep of the Roadrunners.

"I definitely expected the worse of myself. I was prepared for the worse," the All-Mountain West performer said. "Really, it's been awhile. I got to play a couple of individual ITA tournaments and they didn't go great. I was just go out there and do your best. We've been practicing, and I think everybody is playing pretty good considering the circumstance of taking extended time off. I don't think we're back to where we were, but we're definitely in range."

She was pleasantly surprised, and so too was coach Jarod Camerota. Metro State had already played a pair of scrimmages and played two matches at Colorado and Air Force, and he knew they were a gritty team.

He knew his players would be challenged, and he liked the way they responded.

"We knew Metro was a scrappy team, and they're well coached," he said. "Definitely the players were pleasantly surprised for the first time out, and I was very happy with where we're at at the moment. We need to keep getting better, but the fight and the energy was there."

While Luetschwager was breaking in her own game, she was also breaking in a new doubles partner and new teammate. Tracy Guo, one of two transfers making their Rams debuts in the dual, paired with Luetschwager at the top spot, where they posted a 6-1 victory.

Last year, she and Stella Cliffe earned all-conference honors by going 14-4 on the season, becoming the first CSU tandem to earn an ITA ranking. It did feel new, but as the match played out, she started to feel more comfortable with Guo on her side of the net.

"Obviously, it's never perfect right off the bat, but it's working out. It's just a different dynamic," Luetschwager said. "She's a different player than Stella, but I think both of us are experienced college players, so we can figure each other out real quick. Playing with each other every day in practice definitely helps.

"She was definitely nervous right away, and I was like, 'Tracy, you're fine.' I think having that older voice to calm her down, and I usually stay pretty calm out there, helped. I think it was a good combination, and then the way our games kinda complement each other is off to a good start."

Guo admitted she was nervous, not just in doubles, but also in her singles match at the No. 3 spot. And yes, she said Luetschwager's words were a big help. Then again, so was the encouragement of the rest of the team, with fellow transfer Lou Regen possibly the loudest supporter.

After closing out her doubles match, she fell behind 5-2 in the first set at singles before rallying to win in straight sets, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

"It was just being me. I think I was much better than my opponent, so I just calmed down and focused on my strategy, and then I could play pretty good," Guo said. "I think I really liked the vibe. Everybody just supports each other, and I think that helps a lot. It's been a while since the last time we had a match, so everybody helping each other really helped a lot. Assistant coach Scott Langs helped a lot. He knew I was getting nervous, especially in my first match. My teammates … Everybody supported me a lot."

The No. 3 tandem of Emma Corwin and Anastasiia Kotsyuba beat the No. 2 pairing of Regen and Alyssa Grijalva to the punch in clinching the lone doubles point with their 6-3 win, the second squad leading 5-3 at the time.

Regen, at the No. 2 singles spot, posted an impressive 6-2, 6-1 win, and Grijalva went 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4.

Camerota said the team can take the results to practice this week, giving them a more focused on plan what they want to work on

"I think we can nail things down more, and I think it really shows the thing we work on are for the matches," he said. "Sometimes they're easy or different, but we practice for the matches, not to be good in practice."

The sweep came when the final two spots in the singles order both needed a third-set tiebreak. Kotsyuba finished her 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 victory first at No. 6, with Corwin closing out the festivities with a 7-6 (5), 4-6, 10-7 victory at No. 5.

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