Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, April 1
Fort Collins, CO
2:00 PM
Colorado State
4
vs
0
San Jose State
Rams Come Out Cooking at Home
4/1/2023 8:09:00 PM | Women's Tennis
No. 60 CSU blanks San Jose State
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Nothing beats the feeling of home.
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Colorado State's women's tennis team was back on its turf Saturday, and Sarka Richterova had a touch of home in the stands. As a whole, the Rams were feeling rather comfortable after dropping San Jose State 4-0 at the CSU Tennis Complex.
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The opening weekend of Mountain West play had been rough, with the team dropping a pair of matches in Fresno, Calif. It was far from the start the ranked team expected, but Saturday's opening had them back in the right frame of mind.
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CSU (12-4, 1-2 MW) jumped out in front by taking the doubles point, something the team wasn't able to achieve the weekend prior. The No. 2 tandem of Ky Ecton and Zara Lennon came off the court 6-3 victors after SJSU won at the top spot. It left the No. 3 pairings to decide the fate, which went down to the wire as Richterova and Viktoryia Zhadzinskaya rallied to beat Jovana Babic and Lara Marco Mas 7-6 (4).
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Winning the doubles point doesn't guarantee anything, but there's no disputing it gives the victorious side a much better vibe entering singles play.
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"I think it's really important, even just for energy. Doubles, since it's so quick and so fast, if we can come out with energy and confidence, then that can help us lead into singles,"Â Ecton said. "Coach always says the doubles point is important, but we always have to be able to bounce back, too. It's tough getting the two out of three. I think this whole week in practice, everybody had a lot of energy and knew how important it was to bounce back from last weekend, because it was a tough weekend. I think everybody came out wanting it even more.
Â
"I think that showed. I mean, the three's coming through in that tiebreaker and even the singles having to fight in a third set, just showing how everyone fought for it and won it."
Â
The Rams have won matches this year after dropping the doubles point, showcasing the ability to fight back from a deficit. That type of spirit is what CSU coach Mai-Ly Tran wanted to see from start to finish, no matter the numbers on the scoreboard displayed, because she felt her squad lacked a bit of that fire in California.
Â
From start to finish, it's what she received from her roster.
Â
"I think I liked them being a lot more aggressive and playing with confidence. We played our tennis, and they definitely were fighting every single point," she said. "They didn't give up any freebies and didn't let up at any point."
Â
Richterova posted her singles win at No. 4, posting an impressive 6-2, 6-4 win over Rozalina Youseva, controlling the match from start to finish. In a way, she was putting on a bit of a show, for good reason, as her younger sister, Zuzana, is in town to visit from the Czech Republic.
Â
For international players, getting a touch of home is always welcomed. It brightens the mood, even if the two jabber like sisters are prone to do back at the apartment. Even that's welcomed, because it's been since the holidays since Sarka has had a chance to see family.
Â
"She's here for 12 days, and it's insanely great. I love it," she said. "I just get to see family at Christmas and summer, so when she's here, it's nice. It's like a detox."
Â
There's a lift athletes gets from playing in front of the home crowd, even more in front of friends and family. It was easy to see "Zuzu" was thrilled to be there too. They are unmistakable as sister, sharing the same smile and joy for life. In the stands, Zuzu would cheer and wave her hands, which in turn lifted up Sarka.
Â
During breaks, Zuzu was just as vocal, which only made Sarka smile and return to the court ready to perform.
Â
"It's fun, because she's cheering a lot and we have a lot of fun with each other," Sarka said. "It's a lot of stress, obviously, for a student-athlete overall, so it's nice to have someone here to make it a little nicer and more fun. I love when I have people coming to see me. All my friends … it was nice. I love it."
Â
It wasn't long before Radka Buzkova wrapped up her straight-set 6-0, 7-5 win over Alba Pedrero Galindo at No. 1 to put the Rams on the brink of victory. Zara Lennon (No. 2), Sarah Weekley (No. 3) and Zhadzinskaya (No. 6) all won in the first set, each dropping the second. It was freshman Luana Avelar who beat them to the clinching finish line with her 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 5 over Raquel Villain Pereira to earn the Rams their first conference win of the year.
Â
At the time, Lennon, Weekley and Zhadzinskaya all held leads in the third set.
Â
Just what a coach wants to see. And Sunday, with Nevada on the docket for a 3 p.m. start, she wants to see more. The Wolf Pack dropped a 4-3 match to No. 73 Wyoming, a dual which was decided by a third-set tiebreak at No. 1.
Â
"We're just focusing on tomorrow's match, and we now know every single team is so tough," Tran said. "Nevada lost a tough one (Saturday), so we expect to see them fight just as much."
Â
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Colorado State's women's tennis team was back on its turf Saturday, and Sarka Richterova had a touch of home in the stands. As a whole, the Rams were feeling rather comfortable after dropping San Jose State 4-0 at the CSU Tennis Complex.
Â
The opening weekend of Mountain West play had been rough, with the team dropping a pair of matches in Fresno, Calif. It was far from the start the ranked team expected, but Saturday's opening had them back in the right frame of mind.
Â
CSU (12-4, 1-2 MW) jumped out in front by taking the doubles point, something the team wasn't able to achieve the weekend prior. The No. 2 tandem of Ky Ecton and Zara Lennon came off the court 6-3 victors after SJSU won at the top spot. It left the No. 3 pairings to decide the fate, which went down to the wire as Richterova and Viktoryia Zhadzinskaya rallied to beat Jovana Babic and Lara Marco Mas 7-6 (4).
Â
Winning the doubles point doesn't guarantee anything, but there's no disputing it gives the victorious side a much better vibe entering singles play.
Â
"I think it's really important, even just for energy. Doubles, since it's so quick and so fast, if we can come out with energy and confidence, then that can help us lead into singles,"Â Ecton said. "Coach always says the doubles point is important, but we always have to be able to bounce back, too. It's tough getting the two out of three. I think this whole week in practice, everybody had a lot of energy and knew how important it was to bounce back from last weekend, because it was a tough weekend. I think everybody came out wanting it even more.
Â
"I think that showed. I mean, the three's coming through in that tiebreaker and even the singles having to fight in a third set, just showing how everyone fought for it and won it."
Â
The Rams have won matches this year after dropping the doubles point, showcasing the ability to fight back from a deficit. That type of spirit is what CSU coach Mai-Ly Tran wanted to see from start to finish, no matter the numbers on the scoreboard displayed, because she felt her squad lacked a bit of that fire in California.
Â
From start to finish, it's what she received from her roster.
Â
"I think I liked them being a lot more aggressive and playing with confidence. We played our tennis, and they definitely were fighting every single point," she said. "They didn't give up any freebies and didn't let up at any point."
Â
Richterova posted her singles win at No. 4, posting an impressive 6-2, 6-4 win over Rozalina Youseva, controlling the match from start to finish. In a way, she was putting on a bit of a show, for good reason, as her younger sister, Zuzana, is in town to visit from the Czech Republic.
Â
For international players, getting a touch of home is always welcomed. It brightens the mood, even if the two jabber like sisters are prone to do back at the apartment. Even that's welcomed, because it's been since the holidays since Sarka has had a chance to see family.
Â
"She's here for 12 days, and it's insanely great. I love it," she said. "I just get to see family at Christmas and summer, so when she's here, it's nice. It's like a detox."
Â
There's a lift athletes gets from playing in front of the home crowd, even more in front of friends and family. It was easy to see "Zuzu" was thrilled to be there too. They are unmistakable as sister, sharing the same smile and joy for life. In the stands, Zuzu would cheer and wave her hands, which in turn lifted up Sarka.
Â
During breaks, Zuzu was just as vocal, which only made Sarka smile and return to the court ready to perform.
Â
"It's fun, because she's cheering a lot and we have a lot of fun with each other," Sarka said. "It's a lot of stress, obviously, for a student-athlete overall, so it's nice to have someone here to make it a little nicer and more fun. I love when I have people coming to see me. All my friends … it was nice. I love it."
Â
It wasn't long before Radka Buzkova wrapped up her straight-set 6-0, 7-5 win over Alba Pedrero Galindo at No. 1 to put the Rams on the brink of victory. Zara Lennon (No. 2), Sarah Weekley (No. 3) and Zhadzinskaya (No. 6) all won in the first set, each dropping the second. It was freshman Luana Avelar who beat them to the clinching finish line with her 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 5 over Raquel Villain Pereira to earn the Rams their first conference win of the year.
Â
At the time, Lennon, Weekley and Zhadzinskaya all held leads in the third set.
Â
Just what a coach wants to see. And Sunday, with Nevada on the docket for a 3 p.m. start, she wants to see more. The Wolf Pack dropped a 4-3 match to No. 73 Wyoming, a dual which was decided by a third-set tiebreak at No. 1.
Â
"We're just focusing on tomorrow's match, and we now know every single team is so tough," Tran said. "Nevada lost a tough one (Saturday), so we expect to see them fight just as much."
Â
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- STALWART -
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Alba Pedrero Galindo / 0 [SJSU]
05
67
#2 Singles Match
1234
Carolina Millan / 0 [SJSU]
364UF
625UF
#3 Singles Match
1234
Irena Muradyan / 0 [SJSU]
661UF
732UF
#4 Singles Match
12
Rozalina Youseva / 0 [SJSU]
24
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Raqu Villan Pereira / 0 [SJSU]
613
366
#6 Singles Match
1234
Jovana Babic / 0 [SJSU]
272UF
653UF
Order of Finish:
4,1,5
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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