Voeks Winning Battle and a Title

FORT COLLINS – The timing could be better.

After spending her freshman season going toe-to-toe in a knockdown, drag-out title fight with her confidence, Logan Voeks is starting to return some haymakers herself. The concept of being in the moment and shrugging off a poorly placed shot or two wasn't foreign to her, she just chose not to listen.

Now she is, and the results are showing on the court. For the second tournament in a row, she reached a final, capping Sunday's Jon Messick Invitational by winning Flight F in straight sets. As it turns out, believing can be productive, and it meshes rather well with her physical talent.

In truth, changing was her first big victory of the fall.

"I'm really happy. This is two tournaments in a row where I feel super calm on the court," Voeks said. "I'm playing the tennis I want to play even when I'm not playing my A game; I still feel like I'm playing the way I should be, making smart decisions and sticking to my game style.

"I worked a lot over the summer. I sort of found a new love for just being calm on the court, finding patterns and sticking to patterns, sort of figuring out my opponent and learning there's more ways to win a match than one. I feel like learning how to remove yourself from the situation a little bit has really helped me gain an insight to how I can play when things don't feel great, or things aren't going my way."

Her Messick title came in Flight F – one of three for the team but the only official one – and was a tour de force through the Mountain West. It began with a win over a Utah State photo, concluding with a pair of Border War wins over Wyoming rivals. The last came Sunday, her 6-4, 7-5 victory over Anastasiia Kochelaevskaia.

The final was a perfect indicator of how far she's come in her mental approach. She was down 2-0 in the first set, 4-1 in the second set. A year ago, she wouldn't have given herself a chance. Sunday, while she still berated herself a bit, she followed up with affirming thoughts of what she was doing well.

"Absolutely not. I might have been able to pull out one," Voeks said. "I'm actually getting into these situations – which obviously don't want to be down – but I'm almost more calm. I feel like at down 4-1 I knew what to do. It was just a matter of a point here and there, and I got a little bit lucky on a deuce point. I played my game still. I just knew what to do, so I was just calm knowing I could come back."

What she's seeing isn't a surprise to Colorado State coach Mai-Ly Tran, who figured it was just a matter of time. Not everybody makes the jump to college ready to counter the moments of self-doubt which nearly every tennis player faces at one time or another. Not all of them seem to linger there as long as Voeks did, either.

The coach knew, no matter how much the outside world believes in somebody, the only step which matters is the one where the individual jumps on the bandwagon.

"It was highly anticipated. What she learned from last year and she's gotten so much experience from that and a lot of believe in trust in herself," Tran said. "She put in a lot of work in the summer, and it has shown. She's playing with a different confidence. We're so proud of the progress she's made to this point. She overcome a lot, and it's very deserving for her to be able to showcase that."

Now, here's the kicker – Voeks' fall may very well be done.

A lingering elbow issue has been bothersome for her, particularly when she goes full extension. Like every time she serves, and once that's happened, a good backhand for forehand is going to feel it to some degree. The current thought is to shut her down for the remainder of the fall and give it rest. A final decision will come later in the week.

Right when things are going particularly well.

"Really bad timing. I found out about a week ago," she said. "I've had the injury since last year, but it's definitely worse. Hearing that was not so much fun before a tournament. It definitely feels a little unfair, but as my teammates have been saying, everything happens for a reason. It's just another obstacle to overcome. A little bit of a bummer since I feel like I'm in a groove mentally and physically, but I'll keep on what I've gained so far, so hopefully coming back is a little easier."

Teammate and roommate Sarah Weekley feels a lot for Voeks. The disappointment and the accomplishment.

She understands the internal battles, having gone through them herself. And even if Voeks may not be on the court for a spell, she's glad to see her turn a very important corner.

"I'm proud of her," Weekley said. "I've been there. I feel like she's put in the work. She's playing so well and she's not bullying herself."

Unattached Rams Paisha Douglas and Viktoryia Zhadzinskaya also won flight titles, D and E, to be precise. Douglas did so with a three-set victory over the Cowgirls' Elena Trencheva, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4; Zhadzinskaya's came in straight sets over Magadelena Nunez Pureco of Utah State, 6-1, 6-3. The team won all five singles matches it played, with Maryia Dobreva beating ana Sabikova of Utah State 6-2, 6-1, while Weekley won an exhibition against Dilnaz Mashabayeva of Wyoming, 6-0, 6-1.

CSU also won all three of its doubles matches on the day. From one tournament to the other, Tran has seen an uptick in performance, the key to a productive fall.

"I think they've been learning in every single one of their matches. I think they've learned how much emotions play into our performance and our attitude, and I think they've been really receptive to coaching and advice from teammates," Tran said. "We've just gotten better every single day. The first day was good, but it just got better and better and they finished really strong on the last day."

Consistency is the target Tran wants to see achieved. It requires work on the details and holding true to the established standard.

Weekley has used falls in the past to get ready for the upcoming spring campaign when dual matches carry more pressure due to the nature of the results. She's doing the same this year, but since this is her last fall, she's also trying to make sure she's enjoying the process and all which comprises the process.

"This year I'm just trying to have fun – and work on my game," she said. "When I have fun, I play better. I'm playing pretty free right now. I'm just swinging and having a short-term memory. If I miss, I move on to the next shot. That is helping me play better."

And overall, the weekend was fun for the team. A chance to play at home was made better by winning a lot of matches over three days, everyone they played the final round. That's worthy of a pat on the back.

As is the case for Voeks turning around her mental outlook. She's not just ready to do it herself.

"I'm getting there," she said, smiling. "I'm getting there."

As things sit with her, timing is everything.

Doubles Results
Flight A
Douglas/Zhadzinskaya, UN, d. Halvorson/Paterova, USU, 6-2
Flight B
Dobreva/Erechtchenko, UN, d. Caves/de Olivera, USD, 7-5
Flight C
Voeks/Weekley, UN, d. Tapia-Cruz/Pureco, USU, 6-2
Singles
Flight C
Maryia Dobreva, CSU, d. Ana Sabikova, USU, 6-2, 6-1
Flight D
Championship: Paisha Douglas, UN, d. Elena Trencheva, Wyo, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
Flight E
Championship: Viktoryia Zhadzinskaya, UN, d. Magadalena Nunez Pureco, USU, 6-1, 6-3
Flight F
Championship: Logan Voeks, CSU, d. Anastasiia Kochelaevskaia, Wyo, 6-4, 7-5
Exhibition
Sarah Weekley, UN, d. Dilnaz Mashabayeva, WYO, 6-0, 6-1

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Paisha Douglas

Logan Voeks

Sarah Weekley

Viktoryia Zhadzinskaya