Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, April 28
Tucson, Ariz.
3 PM MT
Colorado State
1
at
4
No. 72 San Diego State
Rams’ Season Closes With Semifinal Loss to Aztecs
4/29/2022 8:55:00 PM | Women's Tennis
SDSU rallies in singles after CSU takes doubles point
TUCSON, Ariz. – Grabbing early momentum put the team in a good position, but it also made the sudden swing a bit harder to handle.
The most successful season in Colorado State women's tennis history came to a close at El Conquistador Tucson in a 4-1 loss to No. 72 San Diego State in the semifinal round of the Mountain West Tournament. The Rams finish the year with a 15-7 mark, matching the most wins in a single season for the team as they made just their second Mountain West semifinals appearance. The Aztecs advance to play fourth-seeded UNLV in Saturday's final.
"There are not enough words for me to describe how proud I am of this team" first-year CSU coach Mai-Ly Tran said. "They are a group of amazing young women who came together and made history in the CSU tennis program. They exceeded all expectations for our first year and I'm so thankful for this team to allow me to be a part of their journey. I have so much love for this team."
Colorado State reversed the script from the regular-season dual by taking the doubles point, doing so in dramatic fashion. The Aztecs' ranked No. 1 duo of Bunyawi Thamchaiwat and Tamara Arnold (No. 85) broke out quick without dropping a game, but Colorado State's Nos. 2 and 3 teams rallied from early deficits, with the No. 3 team of Tracy Guo and Lucia Natal evening things up with a 6-4 win.
At No. 2, Radka Buzkova and Matea Mihaljevic worked their way back and were actually serving for the win at 6-5, but the Aztecs' pairing of Regina Pitts and Nnena Nadozie broke to force a tiebreaker, then won the first four points. But the Rams answered back in dominating fashion, winning the next seven point to earn the victory and the doubles point.
"Our doubles performance showed how resilient this group is and it was an example of the lessons we've learned along the way," Tran said. "They never give up and they fought until the end."
San Diego State's response was to come out of the gates strong in singles play, as the Rams won only one first set – at No. 1 singles from Radka Buzkova against No. 78 Thamchaiwat, 6-2. They went to a third set, with Buzkova leading 3-0 after dropping the second 6-2, but never finished as the Aztecs posted wins at the second, third, fifth and sixth spots.
The Rams continued to battle, as Lucia Natal had forced a third set at No. 4 (5-7, 6-3, 0-1), but the Aztecs won a tiebreaker at No. 6 to start their celebration.
"San Diego State is a great team and credit goes to them for playing very well," Tran said. "They were the better team today."
Still, it was a season full of promise. Buzkova and doubles partner Matea Mihaljevic, All-Mountain West at doubles, became the first Rams to win an ITA Regional title, advancing to the ITA Fall Nationals along with fellow doubles team Somer Dalla-Bona and Sarka Richterova. The Buzkova-Mihaljevic tandem set the program record with 26 victories each in doubles play, while Dalla-Bona and Richterova cracked the top 10 with 24.
Buzkova's 26 singles wins are tied for third in a year, and the team beat Colorado for the first time in their history. The Rams won eight conference matches, far and away the most in a single campaign, matching the program's total since the 2014-15 season. It has set the bar high for Tran's teams which will follow.
"This year shows what this team is capable of in the Mountain West and we can't wait to build off of this year and come back even stronger for next season," Tran said.
The most successful season in Colorado State women's tennis history came to a close at El Conquistador Tucson in a 4-1 loss to No. 72 San Diego State in the semifinal round of the Mountain West Tournament. The Rams finish the year with a 15-7 mark, matching the most wins in a single season for the team as they made just their second Mountain West semifinals appearance. The Aztecs advance to play fourth-seeded UNLV in Saturday's final.
"There are not enough words for me to describe how proud I am of this team" first-year CSU coach Mai-Ly Tran said. "They are a group of amazing young women who came together and made history in the CSU tennis program. They exceeded all expectations for our first year and I'm so thankful for this team to allow me to be a part of their journey. I have so much love for this team."
Colorado State reversed the script from the regular-season dual by taking the doubles point, doing so in dramatic fashion. The Aztecs' ranked No. 1 duo of Bunyawi Thamchaiwat and Tamara Arnold (No. 85) broke out quick without dropping a game, but Colorado State's Nos. 2 and 3 teams rallied from early deficits, with the No. 3 team of Tracy Guo and Lucia Natal evening things up with a 6-4 win.
At No. 2, Radka Buzkova and Matea Mihaljevic worked their way back and were actually serving for the win at 6-5, but the Aztecs' pairing of Regina Pitts and Nnena Nadozie broke to force a tiebreaker, then won the first four points. But the Rams answered back in dominating fashion, winning the next seven point to earn the victory and the doubles point.
"Our doubles performance showed how resilient this group is and it was an example of the lessons we've learned along the way," Tran said. "They never give up and they fought until the end."
San Diego State's response was to come out of the gates strong in singles play, as the Rams won only one first set – at No. 1 singles from Radka Buzkova against No. 78 Thamchaiwat, 6-2. They went to a third set, with Buzkova leading 3-0 after dropping the second 6-2, but never finished as the Aztecs posted wins at the second, third, fifth and sixth spots.
The Rams continued to battle, as Lucia Natal had forced a third set at No. 4 (5-7, 6-3, 0-1), but the Aztecs won a tiebreaker at No. 6 to start their celebration.
"San Diego State is a great team and credit goes to them for playing very well," Tran said. "They were the better team today."
Still, it was a season full of promise. Buzkova and doubles partner Matea Mihaljevic, All-Mountain West at doubles, became the first Rams to win an ITA Regional title, advancing to the ITA Fall Nationals along with fellow doubles team Somer Dalla-Bona and Sarka Richterova. The Buzkova-Mihaljevic tandem set the program record with 26 victories each in doubles play, while Dalla-Bona and Richterova cracked the top 10 with 24.
Buzkova's 26 singles wins are tied for third in a year, and the team beat Colorado for the first time in their history. The Rams won eight conference matches, far and away the most in a single campaign, matching the program's total since the 2014-15 season. It has set the bar high for Tran's teams which will follow.
"This year shows what this team is capable of in the Mountain West and we can't wait to build off of this year and come back even stronger for next season," Tran said.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
1234
Thamchaiwat, Bunyawi / 0 (78/-) [SD]
2600
623UF
#2 Singles Match
12
Arnold, Tamara / 0 [SD]
67
25
#3 Singles Match
12
Nadozie, Nnena / 0 [SD]
66
23
#4 Singles Match
1234
Pitts, Regina / 0 [SD]
7310
560UF
#5 Singles Match
12
Melosch, Alicia / 0 [SD]
66
21
#6 Singles Match
12
Jordan, Julie / 0 [SD]
67
36
Order of Finish:
5,3,2,6
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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