Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, April 21
Fort Collins, CO
2:00 PM
Colorado State
4
vs
3
New Mexico
Friday’s Match One for the Books
4/21/2023 6:42:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Zhadzinskaya clinches victory over New Mexico on Senior Day
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Persistence and perseverance pay off.
Through a season of high and lows, Friday's 4-3 victory over New Mexico at the CSU Tennis Complex was one for the books for the Colorado State women's tennis team. The win was the 15th of the campaign, matching the program record the Rams hit a season ago in Mai-Ly Tran's debut as head coach. Beating the Lobos also produced the ninth consecutive home victory for the team, dating back to last season, a program record.
The team has dealt with a string of illness and injury which has altered the lineup, but the record speaks for itself, and Tran believes it speaks volumes about her team.
"I especially think at this point of the season, what we've been through with a lot of ups and downs and tough moments, nothing has been perfect," Tran said. "We've just found ways, and those 15 wins are hard to accomplish. I'm proud of them for being able to respond to tough losses and beating really talented teams. It's been quite a ride."
Team growth requires individual growth in cadence, which was put on display at the end of the match.
Colorado State took the positive first step by winning the doubles point, the No. 2 team of Ky Ecton and Zara Lennon producing the advantage with their 6-4 win after the No. 3 team of Sarka Richterova and Viktoryia Zhadzinskaya cruised to a 6-2 win.
The Rams kept it going somewhat in singles, as Radka Buzkova breezed to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Sarah O'Connor at the top spot, followed by Richterova's 7-5, 6-3 win over Leonie Hoppe at No. 4 building a 3-0 team advantage.
Even still, it took Richterova a bit to get going in the first set, falling behind early before rallying back. At the other four spots, the Rams dropped the first set, and the Lobos would tie the score at 3-all with wins at the 2, 3 and 6 positions, the final two in three sets.
"I feel like we have a really good team, and we just need to work on trusting that we're really good from the beginning," Richterova said. "It's like we need to convince ourselves during the game we are good."
It left Zhadzinskaya on the court with her No. 5 match against Hsuan Huang, with Huang winning the first set 6-2, Zhadzinskaya bouncing back in the second 6-3. When all eyes were finally on them, Zhadzinskaya led 5-4 and was serving for the win. She'd been in a similar situation a few weeks back, as the clinching match on the court with a lead, only to fall short.
It was a valuable teaching tool for her, especially after Huang broke to tie the set at 5-all.
"It feels good. I was in this position a few weeks ago and I lost, but I was fighting," Zhadzinskaya said. "It was really nice to finish for my team today, it being senior day as well. I just kept reminding myself to embrace the moment, and coach was next to me saying embrace it, and it helped me to, I don't know, be brave."
It is an odd dance teams and coaches do when a clinching match is on the court.
At one point, as the third set was back and forth, CSU assistant coach Taylor Hollander sent Richterova to watch from the back to keep encouraging her doubles partner.
"I just love Vika so much. It's so exciting because you want it doubly for the team, but also for her," Richterova said. "It's very important for you on the sideline to cheer as much as possible because you want it for everybody so much. I'm trying to encourage her, but it's really hard for us as tennis players. We don't know what we want, so it's hard to know what the person wants. We have a good bond and we're so close, so it helps. We both like it when people cheer for us."
All of it true. Zhadzinskaya loves to play for the crowd, but she's not exactly hearing what they have to say. Nor does she always want to, and she's definitely not starting a conversation at the moment.
Being in the moment takes all her resolve.
"I'm not the most talkative person on the court. I'm really trying to focus on the ball, and I enjoy support, but I need to be locked in," she said. "You feel the support and it helps and I enjoy playing when the whole team watches."
Her mettle was tested, as Huang on the service line led the next crucial game 40-15, but Zhadzinskaya held tough by winning the next three points to break back and regain the advantage.
This time, she was ready to run with the chance to a 7-5 clinching set.
"For sure. I got a lot more confident going into my serve, and I'm pretty sure she was down because of that," she said. "I felt that was my moment to step in and take it."
Tran, meanwhile, was watching it in her own superstitious manner. She wouldn't look at Zhadzinskaya between points but watched intently during them. She picked her spots with her words of encouragement, and she moved from spot to spot, not because it was cold, but her superstition tells her to stand here or there.
The best part was seeing Zhadzinskaya take hers.
"I'm happy to hear she learned from that match. I always say we learn so much from those losses and to make sure we take that into the next situation," Tran said. "As long as they're getting better, and they recognize that. After a couple of those matches, we talked about how it's a really small margin for the people who end up on top, and what is it going to take. Those are the things we're capable of and to believe she'll get that this next time."
Before the match, the program honored Dush and Ecton, transfers to the team for this one season. They had a history together – they played together in their youth in Northern Colorado, then apart. Dush moved to California, then they both ended up playing four years for rival Pac-12 schools. A decade later, they celebrated a home win as Rams.
At home, at least under Tran, the Rams don't lose. They are undefeated in her tenure (9-0), and despite what may be going on, she feels her team rises to the challenge of defending.
"We do feel that. When we are at home, we know it's our home," she said. "We really take pride in it, and we always try to have a good showing no matter what and be able to play well for ourselves and our fans."
The Rams have one more shot Saturday when they host Air Force. A match-day decision (around 10 a.m.) will be made due to the weather forecast, to play outside, though the two teams are currently scheduled to play indoors at the Fort Collins Country Club following the Wyoming-New Mexico match at 12:30 p.m.
Through a season of high and lows, Friday's 4-3 victory over New Mexico at the CSU Tennis Complex was one for the books for the Colorado State women's tennis team. The win was the 15th of the campaign, matching the program record the Rams hit a season ago in Mai-Ly Tran's debut as head coach. Beating the Lobos also produced the ninth consecutive home victory for the team, dating back to last season, a program record.
The team has dealt with a string of illness and injury which has altered the lineup, but the record speaks for itself, and Tran believes it speaks volumes about her team.
"I especially think at this point of the season, what we've been through with a lot of ups and downs and tough moments, nothing has been perfect," Tran said. "We've just found ways, and those 15 wins are hard to accomplish. I'm proud of them for being able to respond to tough losses and beating really talented teams. It's been quite a ride."
Team growth requires individual growth in cadence, which was put on display at the end of the match.
Colorado State took the positive first step by winning the doubles point, the No. 2 team of Ky Ecton and Zara Lennon producing the advantage with their 6-4 win after the No. 3 team of Sarka Richterova and Viktoryia Zhadzinskaya cruised to a 6-2 win.
The Rams kept it going somewhat in singles, as Radka Buzkova breezed to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Sarah O'Connor at the top spot, followed by Richterova's 7-5, 6-3 win over Leonie Hoppe at No. 4 building a 3-0 team advantage.
Even still, it took Richterova a bit to get going in the first set, falling behind early before rallying back. At the other four spots, the Rams dropped the first set, and the Lobos would tie the score at 3-all with wins at the 2, 3 and 6 positions, the final two in three sets.
"I feel like we have a really good team, and we just need to work on trusting that we're really good from the beginning," Richterova said. "It's like we need to convince ourselves during the game we are good."
It left Zhadzinskaya on the court with her No. 5 match against Hsuan Huang, with Huang winning the first set 6-2, Zhadzinskaya bouncing back in the second 6-3. When all eyes were finally on them, Zhadzinskaya led 5-4 and was serving for the win. She'd been in a similar situation a few weeks back, as the clinching match on the court with a lead, only to fall short.
It was a valuable teaching tool for her, especially after Huang broke to tie the set at 5-all.
"It feels good. I was in this position a few weeks ago and I lost, but I was fighting," Zhadzinskaya said. "It was really nice to finish for my team today, it being senior day as well. I just kept reminding myself to embrace the moment, and coach was next to me saying embrace it, and it helped me to, I don't know, be brave."
It is an odd dance teams and coaches do when a clinching match is on the court.
At one point, as the third set was back and forth, CSU assistant coach Taylor Hollander sent Richterova to watch from the back to keep encouraging her doubles partner.
"I just love Vika so much. It's so exciting because you want it doubly for the team, but also for her," Richterova said. "It's very important for you on the sideline to cheer as much as possible because you want it for everybody so much. I'm trying to encourage her, but it's really hard for us as tennis players. We don't know what we want, so it's hard to know what the person wants. We have a good bond and we're so close, so it helps. We both like it when people cheer for us."
All of it true. Zhadzinskaya loves to play for the crowd, but she's not exactly hearing what they have to say. Nor does she always want to, and she's definitely not starting a conversation at the moment.
Being in the moment takes all her resolve.
"I'm not the most talkative person on the court. I'm really trying to focus on the ball, and I enjoy support, but I need to be locked in," she said. "You feel the support and it helps and I enjoy playing when the whole team watches."
Her mettle was tested, as Huang on the service line led the next crucial game 40-15, but Zhadzinskaya held tough by winning the next three points to break back and regain the advantage.
This time, she was ready to run with the chance to a 7-5 clinching set.
"For sure. I got a lot more confident going into my serve, and I'm pretty sure she was down because of that," she said. "I felt that was my moment to step in and take it."
Tran, meanwhile, was watching it in her own superstitious manner. She wouldn't look at Zhadzinskaya between points but watched intently during them. She picked her spots with her words of encouragement, and she moved from spot to spot, not because it was cold, but her superstition tells her to stand here or there.
The best part was seeing Zhadzinskaya take hers.
"I'm happy to hear she learned from that match. I always say we learn so much from those losses and to make sure we take that into the next situation," Tran said. "As long as they're getting better, and they recognize that. After a couple of those matches, we talked about how it's a really small margin for the people who end up on top, and what is it going to take. Those are the things we're capable of and to believe she'll get that this next time."
Before the match, the program honored Dush and Ecton, transfers to the team for this one season. They had a history together – they played together in their youth in Northern Colorado, then apart. Dush moved to California, then they both ended up playing four years for rival Pac-12 schools. A decade later, they celebrated a home win as Rams.
At home, at least under Tran, the Rams don't lose. They are undefeated in her tenure (9-0), and despite what may be going on, she feels her team rises to the challenge of defending.
"We do feel that. When we are at home, we know it's our home," she said. "We really take pride in it, and we always try to have a good showing no matter what and be able to play well for ourselves and our fans."
The Rams have one more shot Saturday when they host Air Force. A match-day decision (around 10 a.m.) will be made due to the weather forecast, to play outside, though the two teams are currently scheduled to play indoors at the Fort Collins Country Club following the Wyoming-New Mexico match at 12:30 p.m.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Sarah O'Connor / 0 [UNM]
02
66
#2 Singles Match
12
Katherine Jhang / 0 [UNM]
67
25
#3 Singles Match
123
Maud Vandeputte / 0 [UNM]
646
162
#4 Singles Match
12
Leonie Hoppe / 0 [UNM]
53
76
#5 Singles Match
123
Hsuan Huang / 0 [UNM]
635
267
#6 Singles Match
123
Maria Sodre / 0 [UNM]
636
362
Order of Finish:
1,4,2,3,6,5
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
CSU Tennis (W) Sights and Sounds: New Mexico
Sunday, March 31
CSU Tennis (W): UTEP SIghts and Sounds
Sunday, March 03
Colorado State Women's Tennis: Sights and Sounds vs. Wyoming
Monday, April 23
Colorado State Women's Tennis: Sights and Sounds vs. UNC
Friday, April 20