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Colorado State University Athletics
Sunday, April 7
Fort Collins, CO
11:00 AM
Colorado State
4
vs
1
Fresno State
Rams Tame Bulldogs for First Time
4/7/2024 4:45:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Altered lineup delivers in conference victory
Alter the lineup, change the history.
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Colorado State's women's tennis team had never beaten Fresno State in a dual in six previous chances. In order to salvage a split of the Mountain West weekend, the Rams were going to have to do something they'd never achieved before and do so with a revamped lineup.
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They were sans the services of Sarka Richterova, her strained calf still too sore to play after giving it her all in a three-set win Friday in a team loss to San Jose State. Her absence would affect both doubles and singles, but Colorado State approached the day looking at what they had, not what they didn't, in producing a 4-1 victory to move to 8-9 on the season, 4-3 in conference play.
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"With an injury, that's tough for somebody who's a big part of our team, but it shows our depth," CSU coach Mai-Ly Tran said. "We have a lot of belief and confidence in every single player to play a position. Sometimes we want to play all of them, but I'm happy in these moments somebody can have the opportunity to step up."
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The first win of the day came from a vacated Richterova position, as freshman Logan Voeks stepped in to play on the doubles third line with Luana Avelar, their 6-2 victory setting the stage for the Rams to take the doubles point. Which they did when the top line of Radka Buzkova and Viktoryia Zhadzinskaya bounced back from the first conference setback of the season with a 6-4 decision and a 1-0 lead on the board.
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The day ended when Sarah Weekley finished out a straight-sets victory at No. 4, topping Charlotte Gisclone 6-0, 7-5. It was a double victory of sorts, as Weekley not only won the match, but won the battle with herself.
Â
Her tendency is to bully herself mentally on the court when something goes awry. The struggle for her is real, and the expressions on her face noted the times in the match, particularly the second set, when she had to hold herself back.
Â
"I do that. And I did a bit," Weekley said. "I think I played the same the whole match, and she played better in the second set. I tried to stay calm, and I got to the end. I'm trying to do it myself. I mean, Coach tells me not to, and my teammates tell me not to, and it's not helping me play tennis. Staying calm helps me play tennis, being positive. I get myself out of that sometimes. I'm being nicer to myself."
Â
Cruising through the first set made the process easy; there was nothing to debate in her mind. The second set was different, a bit of back-and-forth with her foe and her mental voice. The saving grace was her serve, which was in top form and rather powerful. Tied at 5, she drilled four aces to set herself up to break and close.
Â
Which she did.
Â
"That was nice," Weekley said. "That was super nice. I don't know what happened, but I started serving good. That makes it easier. If I hit two good serves, I only have to win two points. The four aces was really nice."
Â
In the Mountain West, the challenges are very real and consistent at the top two lines, a task both Zara Lennon and Buzkova have been able to shoulder. There have been very few instances when they've not played well this season, and even some occasions where they have and still dropped matches.
Â
That's part of the territory at the top, making Sunday's results so much more enjoyable as they both posted 6-2, 6-2 wins at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.
Â
It's a responsibility they carry with pride, raising the respect from Tran even more.
Â
"That's what makes them so great is they want to win every single match," Tran said. "They've played a couple of tough players and didn't get some, but today they just played in elite form. That's been the story of our season. We might have some tough days where we're not playing our best, but it's how do we respond, how do we get up for the next match. Our goal is to peak leading up to the conference tournament, so this was steps toward that. It was good timing."
Â
For Buzkova at No. 2, the singles win was the 61st of her career, tying her for seventh in program history.
Â
Facing Matilde Magrini at No. 1, Lennon played consistently strong throughout the day. After dropping her past three decisions – all in three sets – getting on and off the court with efficiency felt particularly satisfying.
Â
"I feel it's a bit hard, because you can come off the court feeling you played well and I lost, so it kinda stinks. It's fun knowing I'm going to walk on the court every day knowing I'm going to have a competitive match and knowing I can get better," Lennon said, now with a team-leading 15 singles victories during the campaign. "I think that's a really positive thing about playing No. 1.
Â
"I wake up every morning and I know it's not going to be easy. At the same time, it's exciting. Coach always says, 'embrace when it's complicated,' and today it went well. In other matches I did lose, but it's enjoying the battle and finding the positive. It's a good feeling, and I do like (winning in straight sets). It brings me confidence and it's positive for me."
Â
None of the players were aware of the historical series between the two schools, so it was a fun surprise to find out they'd knocked off the Bulldogs for the first time. It's become part of the territory under Tran, as in her three seasons the Rams have posted additional firsts against Colorado and Nebraska.
Â
Then again, everything about the day felt good. Bouncing back from a loss, notching a first and doing it while clearing a bit of a hurdle.
Â
"That's cool. I'm happy," Lennon said. "I think coach is the happiest. I didn't know, but it's a good feeling. Last year it was Nebraska, so it's always fun."
Â
All positive alterations.
Â
Â
Colorado State's women's tennis team had never beaten Fresno State in a dual in six previous chances. In order to salvage a split of the Mountain West weekend, the Rams were going to have to do something they'd never achieved before and do so with a revamped lineup.
Â
They were sans the services of Sarka Richterova, her strained calf still too sore to play after giving it her all in a three-set win Friday in a team loss to San Jose State. Her absence would affect both doubles and singles, but Colorado State approached the day looking at what they had, not what they didn't, in producing a 4-1 victory to move to 8-9 on the season, 4-3 in conference play.
Â
"With an injury, that's tough for somebody who's a big part of our team, but it shows our depth," CSU coach Mai-Ly Tran said. "We have a lot of belief and confidence in every single player to play a position. Sometimes we want to play all of them, but I'm happy in these moments somebody can have the opportunity to step up."
Â
The first win of the day came from a vacated Richterova position, as freshman Logan Voeks stepped in to play on the doubles third line with Luana Avelar, their 6-2 victory setting the stage for the Rams to take the doubles point. Which they did when the top line of Radka Buzkova and Viktoryia Zhadzinskaya bounced back from the first conference setback of the season with a 6-4 decision and a 1-0 lead on the board.
Â
The day ended when Sarah Weekley finished out a straight-sets victory at No. 4, topping Charlotte Gisclone 6-0, 7-5. It was a double victory of sorts, as Weekley not only won the match, but won the battle with herself.
Â
Her tendency is to bully herself mentally on the court when something goes awry. The struggle for her is real, and the expressions on her face noted the times in the match, particularly the second set, when she had to hold herself back.
Â
"I do that. And I did a bit," Weekley said. "I think I played the same the whole match, and she played better in the second set. I tried to stay calm, and I got to the end. I'm trying to do it myself. I mean, Coach tells me not to, and my teammates tell me not to, and it's not helping me play tennis. Staying calm helps me play tennis, being positive. I get myself out of that sometimes. I'm being nicer to myself."
Â
Cruising through the first set made the process easy; there was nothing to debate in her mind. The second set was different, a bit of back-and-forth with her foe and her mental voice. The saving grace was her serve, which was in top form and rather powerful. Tied at 5, she drilled four aces to set herself up to break and close.
Â
Which she did.
Â
"That was nice," Weekley said. "That was super nice. I don't know what happened, but I started serving good. That makes it easier. If I hit two good serves, I only have to win two points. The four aces was really nice."
Â
In the Mountain West, the challenges are very real and consistent at the top two lines, a task both Zara Lennon and Buzkova have been able to shoulder. There have been very few instances when they've not played well this season, and even some occasions where they have and still dropped matches.
Â
That's part of the territory at the top, making Sunday's results so much more enjoyable as they both posted 6-2, 6-2 wins at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.
Â
It's a responsibility they carry with pride, raising the respect from Tran even more.
Â
"That's what makes them so great is they want to win every single match," Tran said. "They've played a couple of tough players and didn't get some, but today they just played in elite form. That's been the story of our season. We might have some tough days where we're not playing our best, but it's how do we respond, how do we get up for the next match. Our goal is to peak leading up to the conference tournament, so this was steps toward that. It was good timing."
Â
For Buzkova at No. 2, the singles win was the 61st of her career, tying her for seventh in program history.
Â
Facing Matilde Magrini at No. 1, Lennon played consistently strong throughout the day. After dropping her past three decisions – all in three sets – getting on and off the court with efficiency felt particularly satisfying.
Â
"I feel it's a bit hard, because you can come off the court feeling you played well and I lost, so it kinda stinks. It's fun knowing I'm going to walk on the court every day knowing I'm going to have a competitive match and knowing I can get better," Lennon said, now with a team-leading 15 singles victories during the campaign. "I think that's a really positive thing about playing No. 1.
Â
"I wake up every morning and I know it's not going to be easy. At the same time, it's exciting. Coach always says, 'embrace when it's complicated,' and today it went well. In other matches I did lose, but it's enjoying the battle and finding the positive. It's a good feeling, and I do like (winning in straight sets). It brings me confidence and it's positive for me."
Â
None of the players were aware of the historical series between the two schools, so it was a fun surprise to find out they'd knocked off the Bulldogs for the first time. It's become part of the territory under Tran, as in her three seasons the Rams have posted additional firsts against Colorado and Nebraska.
Â
Then again, everything about the day felt good. Bouncing back from a loss, notching a first and doing it while clearing a bit of a hurdle.
Â
"That's cool. I'm happy," Lennon said. "I think coach is the happiest. I didn't know, but it's a good feeling. Last year it was Nebraska, so it's always fun."
Â
All positive alterations.
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:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Matilde Magrini / 0 [FST]
22
66
#2 Singles Match
12
Misaki Kobayashi / 0 [FST]
22
66
#3 Singles Match
123
Carolina Piferi / 0 [FST]
566
720
#4 Singles Match
12
Charlotte Gisclon / 0 [FST]
05
67
#5 Singles Match
12
Mariya Vyshkina / 0 [FST]
60
6UF
#6 Singles Match
12
Hannah Pieper / 0 [FST]
10
5UF
Order of Finish:
1,2,3,4
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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