Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, April 28
Tucson, AZ
3 PM MT
Colorado State
4
vs
0
San Jose State
Rams Sweep Way to Tournament Semifinals
4/28/2022 6:46:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Mountain West semifinal appearance is just the second in program history
TUCSON, Ariz. – Simply having a conference tournament to attend was reason enough to celebrate, but why stop there?
Adding elation to the day, Colorado State's women's tennis team posted a 4-0 sweep of San Jose State to advance to Friday's semifinal round, where the Rams will face San Diego State. It is the first sweep for the program at the Mountain West Tournament in the championship bracket (the Rams had two in consolation rounds in the early days of the event).
This is the program's second appearance in the Mountain West semifinals. The first came back in 2001 when they fell to the Aztecs.
"I was so impressed the way the team approached this match," first-year CSU coach Mai-Ly Tran said. "They came out with a great attitude and dominated from the start. Their energy was infectious, and it carried throughout all six courts."
Colorado State, the second seed in the first tournament held since 2019 due to the global pandemic, rushed out of the gate, picking up matching 6-2 victories from No. 1 tandem Somer Dalla-Bona and Sarka Richterova and the No. 2 team of Radka Buzkova and Matea Mihaljevic to take a 1-0 lead with the doubles point.
Buzkova, who picked up her All-Mountain West singles and doubles awards prior to the match along with teammates Mihaljevic (doubles) and Dalla-Bona (singles), jumpstarted the singles push with her 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 1 over Alba Pedrero Galindo. Lucia Natal advanced the Rams' lead to 3-0 with her 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 4 singles. The day came to an end when freshman Sarah Weekley, who hasn't had a chance to finish out a match in nearly a month, closed it out with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 6 against Jovana Babic, a player she beat in three sets in the conference opener.
"Both Lucia and Radka have been rolling through their matches, but seeing Sarah clinch today was really special," Tran said. "It's been tough for our Nos. 5 and 6 players with only playing on three or four courts the past month. Sarah continues to improve, and it's so great to see her develop."
For Buzkova and Mihaljevic, the doubles win was the 25th of the year for each of them, extending their school record for a single season. Dalla-Bona and Richterova notched their 22nd in doubles play, which ties them for third with Emily Kirchem.
Buzkova now has 25 singles victories on the year, tying her for third in a season.
The Rams will now face the No. 3 Aztecs (a 4-0 winner over Wyoming) in Friday's second semifinal, starting at 3 p.m. MT. There will be a live stream and live scoring available through the Mountain West Championship page. The two teams met April 10 in Las Vegas, with San Diego State taking a 4-2 win. Since then, the Rams have won five consecutive matches, giving them a program-record tying 15 on the season.
"San Diego State is a great team and has had some really good results," Tran said. "But we've been playing some great tennis and the team is playing for one another and enjoying every minute. I'm excited to get started tomorrow."
The other semifinal will feature No. 4 UNLV vs. No. 10 Nevada. The Wolf Pack sent the biggest shockwave through the field on the second day by knocking off top-seeded Fresno State – which didn't drop a Mountain West dual this year – 4-3. The Rebels advanced with a 4-3 win over the No. 5 Falcons. That match begins at 11 a.m. MT.
Adding elation to the day, Colorado State's women's tennis team posted a 4-0 sweep of San Jose State to advance to Friday's semifinal round, where the Rams will face San Diego State. It is the first sweep for the program at the Mountain West Tournament in the championship bracket (the Rams had two in consolation rounds in the early days of the event).
This is the program's second appearance in the Mountain West semifinals. The first came back in 2001 when they fell to the Aztecs.
"I was so impressed the way the team approached this match," first-year CSU coach Mai-Ly Tran said. "They came out with a great attitude and dominated from the start. Their energy was infectious, and it carried throughout all six courts."
Colorado State, the second seed in the first tournament held since 2019 due to the global pandemic, rushed out of the gate, picking up matching 6-2 victories from No. 1 tandem Somer Dalla-Bona and Sarka Richterova and the No. 2 team of Radka Buzkova and Matea Mihaljevic to take a 1-0 lead with the doubles point.
Buzkova, who picked up her All-Mountain West singles and doubles awards prior to the match along with teammates Mihaljevic (doubles) and Dalla-Bona (singles), jumpstarted the singles push with her 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 1 over Alba Pedrero Galindo. Lucia Natal advanced the Rams' lead to 3-0 with her 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 4 singles. The day came to an end when freshman Sarah Weekley, who hasn't had a chance to finish out a match in nearly a month, closed it out with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 6 against Jovana Babic, a player she beat in three sets in the conference opener.
"Both Lucia and Radka have been rolling through their matches, but seeing Sarah clinch today was really special," Tran said. "It's been tough for our Nos. 5 and 6 players with only playing on three or four courts the past month. Sarah continues to improve, and it's so great to see her develop."
For Buzkova and Mihaljevic, the doubles win was the 25th of the year for each of them, extending their school record for a single season. Dalla-Bona and Richterova notched their 22nd in doubles play, which ties them for third with Emily Kirchem.
Buzkova now has 25 singles victories on the year, tying her for third in a season.
The Rams will now face the No. 3 Aztecs (a 4-0 winner over Wyoming) in Friday's second semifinal, starting at 3 p.m. MT. There will be a live stream and live scoring available through the Mountain West Championship page. The two teams met April 10 in Las Vegas, with San Diego State taking a 4-2 win. Since then, the Rams have won five consecutive matches, giving them a program-record tying 15 on the season.
"San Diego State is a great team and has had some really good results," Tran said. "But we've been playing some great tennis and the team is playing for one another and enjoying every minute. I'm excited to get started tomorrow."
The other semifinal will feature No. 4 UNLV vs. No. 10 Nevada. The Wolf Pack sent the biggest shockwave through the field on the second day by knocking off top-seeded Fresno State – which didn't drop a Mountain West dual this year – 4-3. The Rebels advanced with a 4-3 win over the No. 5 Falcons. That match begins at 11 a.m. MT.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Alba Pedrero Galindo / 0 [SJSU]
10
66
#2 Singles Match
123
Irena Muradyan / 0 [SJSU]
650
43UF
#3 Singles Match
123
Rozalina Youseva / 0 [SJSU]
330
65UF
#4 Singles Match
12
R. Villan Pereira / 0 [SJSU]
13
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Lara Marco Mas / 0 [SJSU]
650
05UF
#6 Singles Match
12
Jovana Babic / 0 [SJSU]
24
66
Order of Finish:
1,4,6
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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