Rams Take Down In-State Rival Out of State

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LARAMIE, Wyo. – Picking up a win over an in-state rival is always celebrated, no matter where it takes place.

Saturday, Colorado State's women's tennis team traveled to Laramie to face Air Force, pulling out a 4-2 victory at Wyoming's Indoor Tennis Facility on a windy day. The Rams will stay in town to face New Mexico on Sunday (2 p.m.)

Colorado State earned the doubles point, getting wins from Radka Buzkova and Matea Mihaljevic at No. 2 (6-3), followed by a 6-2 victory at No. 3 from Tracy Guo and Lucia Natal. Picking up that advantage was a point of emphasis at practice this week, with the work paying dividends in the final outcome.

"It started from doubles. We focused on double this week because we knew Air Force has strong doubles teams," CSU coach Mai-Ly Tran said. "I think all of our doubles teams played really well. We just lost a close one at No. 1, but I'm impressed with how they defended against a very aggressive style. I was very happy for the team to get some momentum, because we knew it was going to be a close match."

The team victory became complete when the Rams won three of the five singles matches which finished, picking up the final two to improve to 8-6 overall, 2-1 in conference play. Sarka Richterova kicked it off with a straight-sets victory at No. 3 over Alexis Odum, 6-3, 6-2, but the Falcons picked up wins at Nos. 1 and 3 to tighten the affair.

Buzkova finished off a three-setter at the No. 2 spot against Sydney Fitch, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Not too long after, Natal closed out a straight-sets victory over Hailey Stelse at No. 5 to finish the day.

The win by Richterova was big, not just for the team, but for her, as she had dropped a string of tight matches despite playing well. So was Buzkova's, who after dropping the first set, found herself down 3-1 in the third before winning five of the final six games.

"It was nice to see Sarka get a solid win and for her to gain some confidence. She played really well and just believed in herself, and it was great to see her get our first point," Tran said. "What stood out was Radka's match. She played a talented and tough player, and she lost the first set, but she's just really gritty. She's tough, she just stayed in it and mentally believed. It came down to her and Lucia with the late start, and Sarah was on her way, too. But it was fun to see Radka win that match."

For Buzkova and Mihaljevic, the win is the 22^nd for each in doubles play, tying them both for second all-time in a single season with Emily Kirchem; the record is 23 by Hilary Tyler, back in 2006-07. The singles victory is the 18^th of the year for Buzkova, leaving her three shy of cracking the top 10 in program history. Her 18-5 overall record in singles is currently tied for third for the best winning percentage in a year, matching Anne Anderson, who was also 18-5 back in 2005. Natal, now 14-2 on the year, has taken over the top spot on the list at an .875 clip.

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