Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, April 19
Fort Collins, CO
3:30 PM
Colorado State
2
vs
4
Wyoming
Rams Fall to Rivals on Senior Day
4/19/2024 8:49:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Team heads to MW Tournament as No. 6 seed
Upon reaching the conclusion of the regular season, the team will head back to the beginning for postseason play.
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Colorado State women's tennis team dropped a 4-2 decision Friday at the Fort Collins Country Club to rival Wyoming to close out Mountain West play on a day the Rams celebrated a trio of seniors, a result which leaves them as the No. 6 seed for the conference tournament next week in Las Vegas.
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At 9-11 overall, 5-5 in Mountain West play, the Rams will open the tournament April 24 at the Darling Tennis Center at 11 a.m. (MT) against the team they faced to start league play, Air Force. The Falcons were winless in conference play.
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Having something to look forward too helped take the sting off the results of the day, one which was filled with emotions long before the senior day festivities prior to the match. Radka Buzkova, Zara Lennon and Sarka Richterova may have played their final home match Friday, but Buzkova says they have plenty to look forward to and the confidence to do so.
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"We're not done yet, and we're super excited for conference," Buzkova said. "We say we're on a mission for Coach because we know how much she wants it. I think we're going to leave everything there, especially the three of us. We're going to do everything we can."
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The afternoon started off in encouraging fashion, with Colorado State taking the doubles point at the top two lines as Buzkova and Viktoryia Zhadzinskaya won 6-4 at the top line, with Lennon and Sarah Weekley outlasting their Wyoming counterparts 7-6 (4) at No. 2.
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At the country club, only the first three singles matches are on the court to start, and the Rams won two of the first three opening sets. However, the Cowgirls quickly seized some momentum in winning two of the first three matches of the day. As one would expect with all-conference performers on the court, the top two singles matches both went to three sets, with Buzkova sealing the only singles point for the team with her 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 victory over Noesjka Brink.
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The Cowgirls won at Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5 to clinch the match and the No. 3 seed for the tournament.
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CSU coach Mai-Ly Tran felt her team was a bit off, possibly because of the emotions of the day, but is just as confident when the Rams are at their best they can take down any team in the field.
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"I think we feel good about the tournament. This was one match that we didn't play our best tennis, which is unfortunate because that match would have helped us," Tran said. "No matter what the conference is conference and I think we're ready for it. It's really about us being able to look forward and move on pretty quickly and prepare for the tournament.
Â
"We don't have to do very much. We've learned a lot through the entire season. We know what we're capable of. We just have to make sure we play good tennis when we get out there."
Â
Buzkova, like most players, would have loved to have her last home hurrah outside, but she also adores the intimacy of playing at the country club and the noise which is generated. She won't remember the final loss as much as the way the home crowd embraced her for three seasons.
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Getting past it took a bit of a mental recheck.
Â
"I was telling Sarka I didn't think it was going to hit me because I cried two days earlier already, and I'm not really good at showing my emotions if it's staged," Buzkova said. "It kinda did hit me, hearing everyone talking about us and having your best friends around you. Being here, where we have so many memories of practices at 6 a.m. and practices from 9-11 p.m., yeah, it's pretty special. I don't think I'll ever have a crowd like that cheering for me in anything else I do."
Â
It wasn't just the seniors. There were plenty of tears hours before the match began as Zhadzinskaya said it affected them all. It might not be the end of a season, but in some regards, it felt like the first step toward the end of an era.
Â
She said they were saluting friends more than teammates, people who in that role played a large part in the team's success the past three seasons, with a myriad of memorable victories to recall on the court, even more precious memories away from competition.
Â
"It was very emotional. It pushed me to play for the seniors today," said Zhadzinskaya, who won her first set at No. 6 shortly before the match was abandoned. "It's hard because we're very close off the court. It was sad thinking they won't be there next year."
Â
Buzkova's wins were memorable in the record book. At doubles, the victory was her 26th of the season, matching the program record she set with Matea Mihaljevic in 2021-22. It was the 65th of her career, which ranks her No. 2 on the list, and her 30 doubles dual wins is tied for 10th. At singles, she now has 62 career wins, good for No. 7 all-time, while her 16 at the No. 2 spot is tied for fourth.
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The team is well aware there is more to chase. How much is up to them.
Â
"Even with the results last year, we can see the main part is the conference tournament," Zhadzinskaya said. "The season is important, but if we can put our focus on the tournament we can do well. I feel like when we play our tennis and play good games, I'm super confident in my team. I know we can do it. We just need to show up and fight.
Â
"We have experience with losing a match and then the next one reacting and bouncing back. Honestly, this conference is unpredictable and filled with good teams, but I feel we can make it."
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Colorado State women's tennis team dropped a 4-2 decision Friday at the Fort Collins Country Club to rival Wyoming to close out Mountain West play on a day the Rams celebrated a trio of seniors, a result which leaves them as the No. 6 seed for the conference tournament next week in Las Vegas.
Â
At 9-11 overall, 5-5 in Mountain West play, the Rams will open the tournament April 24 at the Darling Tennis Center at 11 a.m. (MT) against the team they faced to start league play, Air Force. The Falcons were winless in conference play.
Â
Having something to look forward too helped take the sting off the results of the day, one which was filled with emotions long before the senior day festivities prior to the match. Radka Buzkova, Zara Lennon and Sarka Richterova may have played their final home match Friday, but Buzkova says they have plenty to look forward to and the confidence to do so.
Â
"We're not done yet, and we're super excited for conference," Buzkova said. "We say we're on a mission for Coach because we know how much she wants it. I think we're going to leave everything there, especially the three of us. We're going to do everything we can."
Â
The afternoon started off in encouraging fashion, with Colorado State taking the doubles point at the top two lines as Buzkova and Viktoryia Zhadzinskaya won 6-4 at the top line, with Lennon and Sarah Weekley outlasting their Wyoming counterparts 7-6 (4) at No. 2.
Â
At the country club, only the first three singles matches are on the court to start, and the Rams won two of the first three opening sets. However, the Cowgirls quickly seized some momentum in winning two of the first three matches of the day. As one would expect with all-conference performers on the court, the top two singles matches both went to three sets, with Buzkova sealing the only singles point for the team with her 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 victory over Noesjka Brink.
Â
The Cowgirls won at Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5 to clinch the match and the No. 3 seed for the tournament.
Â
CSU coach Mai-Ly Tran felt her team was a bit off, possibly because of the emotions of the day, but is just as confident when the Rams are at their best they can take down any team in the field.
Â
"I think we feel good about the tournament. This was one match that we didn't play our best tennis, which is unfortunate because that match would have helped us," Tran said. "No matter what the conference is conference and I think we're ready for it. It's really about us being able to look forward and move on pretty quickly and prepare for the tournament.
Â
"We don't have to do very much. We've learned a lot through the entire season. We know what we're capable of. We just have to make sure we play good tennis when we get out there."
Â
Buzkova, like most players, would have loved to have her last home hurrah outside, but she also adores the intimacy of playing at the country club and the noise which is generated. She won't remember the final loss as much as the way the home crowd embraced her for three seasons.
Â
Getting past it took a bit of a mental recheck.
Â
"I was telling Sarka I didn't think it was going to hit me because I cried two days earlier already, and I'm not really good at showing my emotions if it's staged," Buzkova said. "It kinda did hit me, hearing everyone talking about us and having your best friends around you. Being here, where we have so many memories of practices at 6 a.m. and practices from 9-11 p.m., yeah, it's pretty special. I don't think I'll ever have a crowd like that cheering for me in anything else I do."
Â
It wasn't just the seniors. There were plenty of tears hours before the match began as Zhadzinskaya said it affected them all. It might not be the end of a season, but in some regards, it felt like the first step toward the end of an era.
Â
She said they were saluting friends more than teammates, people who in that role played a large part in the team's success the past three seasons, with a myriad of memorable victories to recall on the court, even more precious memories away from competition.
Â
"It was very emotional. It pushed me to play for the seniors today," said Zhadzinskaya, who won her first set at No. 6 shortly before the match was abandoned. "It's hard because we're very close off the court. It was sad thinking they won't be there next year."
Â
Buzkova's wins were memorable in the record book. At doubles, the victory was her 26th of the season, matching the program record she set with Matea Mihaljevic in 2021-22. It was the 65th of her career, which ranks her No. 2 on the list, and her 30 doubles dual wins is tied for 10th. At singles, she now has 62 career wins, good for No. 7 all-time, while her 16 at the No. 2 spot is tied for fourth.
Â
The team is well aware there is more to chase. How much is up to them.
Â
"Even with the results last year, we can see the main part is the conference tournament," Zhadzinskaya said. "The season is important, but if we can put our focus on the tournament we can do well. I feel like when we play our tennis and play good games, I'm super confident in my team. I know we can do it. We just need to show up and fight.
Â
"We have experience with losing a match and then the next one reacting and bouncing back. Honestly, this conference is unpredictable and filled with good teams, but I feel we can make it."
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
123
Sophie Zehender / 0 [WYO]
166
611
#2 Singles Match
123
Noesjka Brink / 0 [WYO]
271
656
#3 Singles Match
12
Violetta Borodina / 0 [WYO]
66
23
#4 Singles Match
12
Jeselle Ante / 0 [WYO]
66
13
#5 Singles Match
12
Nikol Dobrilova / 0 [WYO]
66
03
#6 Singles Match
12
Adel Ismagulova / 0 [WYO]
30
6UF
Order of Finish:
3,1,2,5,4
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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