Colorado State University Athletics
Sunday, February 5
Fort Collins, CO
1:00 PM
Colorado State
4
vs
3
San Francisco
Rams Rally to Win Home Opening Dual
2/5/2023 8:37:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Lennon, Avelar win final two matches to seal team victory
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – On a tennis court, nothing is as fickle a cohort as momentum.
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For starters, there's no guarantee it will ever come along for the ride. If it does, keeping it buckled in tight is a trick. And should it jump out the door, getting it back in the vehicle requires a careful conversation.
Â
Like the one Zara Lennon had with herself in the early evening Sunday at the Fort Collins Country Club. With the match on the line, Colorado State's No. 5 singles player rallied after dropping the first set to San Francisco's Caragh Courtney, responding with a 6-7 (8), 6-1, 6-2 victory to seal a 4-3 team victory for the Rams in their home opener.
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"I had a good, critical conversation with myself. Obviously, I have to stay positive and keep telling myself I can do this and there's another set," Lennon said, a transfer from Long Beach State. "At the same time, being a tennis player is trying to forget quick. I'm talking to myself, then at the same time, it's new beginning, new set, new everything. Let's just get into it."
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CSU head coach Mai-Ly Tran's opinion is it is much tougher to regain momentum when it's been discarded. Lennon agreed, noting in getting it back, Courtney provided some aid by missing some shots in early in the second set she'd hit in the first. Lennon quickly started to roll, then after the break between sets, continued straight forward.
Â
Not that it was a new sensation on the day for her. Colorado State won the doubles point, and again it was Lennon with partner Ky Ecton on the court last. Tied at 5, they trailed 40-15, then came back to win the set. Then they were broken and had to work their way through a 7-4 tiebreak to beat Arianna Capogrosso and Rita Colyer, 7-6. Paired with the win at No. 3 from Sarka Richterova and Viktoryia Zhadzinskaya, the Rams held the early edge.
Â
"I feel like for me it's harder to regain it after I lost it. When I have the momentum, it's nice because I'm not really thinking about the score," Lennon said. "I'm just thinking about what I want to do with the ball. It's the same thing in singles. I was up in the tiebreak with three set points, and I got nervous. I feel like sometimes it's really battling the nerves and trying to come back. It was hard, losing the first set, then coming back in the second set. Same thing for doubles, we were up 6-5 with our serve. It's being able to ride out the bad waves and the good waves and keep your head up and keep fighting."
Â
With three courts at the country club, the first three singles spots took to play, and San Francisco won the first set in each. Then the Rams won the second set in two of them. But only Radka Buzkova at No. 3 carried it through to a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Simran Chhabra, leaving the dual tied at two.
Â
Enter the next three, and the Dons' win at No. 5 had the visitors on the cusp of winning.
Â
On the outside courts were Lennon and freshman Luana Avelar, and the youngster had a different take on her three-set match, storming through the first set with Capogrosso, 6-1. Then they split with Capogorosso coming back 6-4.
Â
Naturally, she views companionship with momentum differently than does her coach and Lennon.
Â
"For me personally, it's keeping momentum. Usually for me, it's like a switch," she said. "I turn the switch and I'm going really good. Maintaining that constantly is really hard, because you know that other person is going to do their best. And sometimes they change, and you're stuck in one place."
Â
Her opponent did, making fewer mistakes. Recomposed after the break, Avelar made quick work on the final set.
Â
Like fans looking at scores curiously without having watched a match, she also wonders how she can win two sets 6-1, then have a battle in another. And as a freshman, she's still trying to decipher dual scoring in college, having no idea when she started her match the Rams needed two wins.
Â
"I'm still very confused. I didn't want to keep thinking about winning or losing my match, but I was thinking if I win, what does this mean?," she said. "I was so lost that I just paid attention to my match. I didn't realize it was up to me and Zara."
Â
In the end, it was just Lennon. She was happy to shoulder that burden, having clinched a match earlier in her career.
Â
"I was like, OK, no room for mistakes. I was always focused, but it adds that little pressure," she said. "Honestly, I'm glad I finished after Lu, just because I know she's a freshman and it might have been more nerve-racking for her. I'd done it once before, but it was like four years ago, but it definitely helps you."
Â
As Tran feels this match will help her team down the road. There were opportunities missed throughout the day, but the final tally shows the Rams gained more back than they lost. Moving forward, those are memories she knows will serve her squad well.
Â
Through it all, she saw improvement from her team from the opening weekend in the way they carried themselves on the court, trusted the process and remained resilient.
Â
"I think we learned a lot in this match and overcame a lot of challenges. We played through some difficulties, but I think we definitely improved from our first couple of matches," Tran said. "We did lose some crucial points, but I did tell them we're not going to win every single point and to stay the course. That's natural in the beginning of the season. I think they did a great job of responding to some of the mistakes and trusting themselves."
Â
All it took was the ability to gather up the nerve to set aside some setbacks and make friends with momentum once again. It has proven time and time again to be an unstable alliance, but it's always better to have it on your side.
Â
Â
For starters, there's no guarantee it will ever come along for the ride. If it does, keeping it buckled in tight is a trick. And should it jump out the door, getting it back in the vehicle requires a careful conversation.
Â
Like the one Zara Lennon had with herself in the early evening Sunday at the Fort Collins Country Club. With the match on the line, Colorado State's No. 5 singles player rallied after dropping the first set to San Francisco's Caragh Courtney, responding with a 6-7 (8), 6-1, 6-2 victory to seal a 4-3 team victory for the Rams in their home opener.
Â
"I had a good, critical conversation with myself. Obviously, I have to stay positive and keep telling myself I can do this and there's another set," Lennon said, a transfer from Long Beach State. "At the same time, being a tennis player is trying to forget quick. I'm talking to myself, then at the same time, it's new beginning, new set, new everything. Let's just get into it."
Â
CSU head coach Mai-Ly Tran's opinion is it is much tougher to regain momentum when it's been discarded. Lennon agreed, noting in getting it back, Courtney provided some aid by missing some shots in early in the second set she'd hit in the first. Lennon quickly started to roll, then after the break between sets, continued straight forward.
Â
Not that it was a new sensation on the day for her. Colorado State won the doubles point, and again it was Lennon with partner Ky Ecton on the court last. Tied at 5, they trailed 40-15, then came back to win the set. Then they were broken and had to work their way through a 7-4 tiebreak to beat Arianna Capogrosso and Rita Colyer, 7-6. Paired with the win at No. 3 from Sarka Richterova and Viktoryia Zhadzinskaya, the Rams held the early edge.
Â
"I feel like for me it's harder to regain it after I lost it. When I have the momentum, it's nice because I'm not really thinking about the score," Lennon said. "I'm just thinking about what I want to do with the ball. It's the same thing in singles. I was up in the tiebreak with three set points, and I got nervous. I feel like sometimes it's really battling the nerves and trying to come back. It was hard, losing the first set, then coming back in the second set. Same thing for doubles, we were up 6-5 with our serve. It's being able to ride out the bad waves and the good waves and keep your head up and keep fighting."
Â
With three courts at the country club, the first three singles spots took to play, and San Francisco won the first set in each. Then the Rams won the second set in two of them. But only Radka Buzkova at No. 3 carried it through to a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Simran Chhabra, leaving the dual tied at two.
Â
Enter the next three, and the Dons' win at No. 5 had the visitors on the cusp of winning.
Â
On the outside courts were Lennon and freshman Luana Avelar, and the youngster had a different take on her three-set match, storming through the first set with Capogrosso, 6-1. Then they split with Capogorosso coming back 6-4.
Â
Naturally, she views companionship with momentum differently than does her coach and Lennon.
Â
"For me personally, it's keeping momentum. Usually for me, it's like a switch," she said. "I turn the switch and I'm going really good. Maintaining that constantly is really hard, because you know that other person is going to do their best. And sometimes they change, and you're stuck in one place."
Â
Her opponent did, making fewer mistakes. Recomposed after the break, Avelar made quick work on the final set.
Â
Like fans looking at scores curiously without having watched a match, she also wonders how she can win two sets 6-1, then have a battle in another. And as a freshman, she's still trying to decipher dual scoring in college, having no idea when she started her match the Rams needed two wins.
Â
"I'm still very confused. I didn't want to keep thinking about winning or losing my match, but I was thinking if I win, what does this mean?," she said. "I was so lost that I just paid attention to my match. I didn't realize it was up to me and Zara."
Â
In the end, it was just Lennon. She was happy to shoulder that burden, having clinched a match earlier in her career.
Â
"I was like, OK, no room for mistakes. I was always focused, but it adds that little pressure," she said. "Honestly, I'm glad I finished after Lu, just because I know she's a freshman and it might have been more nerve-racking for her. I'd done it once before, but it was like four years ago, but it definitely helps you."
Â
As Tran feels this match will help her team down the road. There were opportunities missed throughout the day, but the final tally shows the Rams gained more back than they lost. Moving forward, those are memories she knows will serve her squad well.
Â
Through it all, she saw improvement from her team from the opening weekend in the way they carried themselves on the court, trusted the process and remained resilient.
Â
"I think we learned a lot in this match and overcame a lot of challenges. We played through some difficulties, but I think we definitely improved from our first couple of matches," Tran said. "We did lose some crucial points, but I did tell them we're not going to win every single point and to stay the course. That's natural in the beginning of the season. I think they did a great job of responding to some of the mistakes and trusting themselves."
Â
All it took was the ability to gather up the nerve to set aside some setbacks and make friends with momentum once again. It has proven time and time again to be an unstable alliance, but it's always better to have it on your side.
Â
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- STALWART -
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- STALWART -
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Ma Martinez Vaquero / 0 [SF]
67
16
#2 Singles Match
123
Chiho Mushika / 0 [SF]
616
263
#3 Singles Match
123
Simran Chhabra / 0 [SF]
612
466
#4 Singles Match
123
Caragh Courtney / 0 [SF]
712
666
#5 Singles Match
12
Hana Gamracy / 0 [SF]
66
44
#6 Singles Match
123
Arianna Capogrosso / 0 [SF]
161
646
Order of Finish:
1,2,3,5,6,4
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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