Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, March 27
Fort Collins, CO
2:00 PM
Colorado State
4
vs
3
San Jose State
Caves Seals Deal With Second Chance
3/27/2026 8:24:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Rams rally to post first conference victory
FORT COLLINS – While Mai-Ly Tran paced around Court 2, a myriad of thoughts alternating in her mind, Sorcha Caves was trying not to do the same.
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The junior tried to keep it simple, no matter the circumstances. Down 5-3 in the final set, she kept it positive. Same when she rallied back to take the next three games, then was forced into a second tiebreaker with San Jose State's Emma Fantousis on Friday at the CSU Tennis Complex.
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Still the same when Caves went up 6-3 in the tiebreak, only to find the score knotted back up at 6-all. Again.
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She'd been there before. Just a set prior. One point away from a straight-sets win, a victory which would have set up a chain of events to give the Rams their first Mountain West victory of the year. She'd have to wait, with Fantousis rallying back to take the tiebreak 13-11 and even their match at one set each.
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Déjà vu.
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"Yeah, I thought that," Caves said. "But it didn't matter. I knew I was going to do this for the team. I would look over and look at Hanna (Haber) and Stella (Morgan) in the eyes, even Logan (Voeks). I wanted to do it for the team. I never doubted I could win."
Â
Which she did, given that second chance. Back at 6-all in the tiebreak, she won the next two points and then leapt into the air as he 6-4, 6-7 (11-13), 7-6 (8-6) clinched a 4-3 victory for Colorado State.
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Tran watched and contemplated. Not just the point-by-point blows the two players exchanged, but the build-up to the drama. Not just in the match, but during the season.
Â
Colorado State – like its counterpart – entered the match 0-4 in league play, and for the Rams, the ride had been a string of 4-0 results. A couple of times a Ram was on the verge of winning when the team score was clinched, denying them even a morsal to build upon going to the next competition.
Â
Watching the team celebrate left her emotional.
Â
"I think about all the things that lead up to that. All the hard work, all the challenges and adversity that these girls face," Tran said. "But they just keep getting up and showing up and that was just the culmination of hard work and finally just really believing that she could do it.
Â
"And it's really cool to witness it. The score just shows how incredible the game of tennis is. It can just take so many ups and downs but at the end of it, it's like how she played is what I'm, you know, this team is super proud of is that she played to win."
Â
The Rams took the long road to the finish line, needing four wins at singles after dropping the doubles point. It started simple enough, a breezy 6-2, 6-2 victory from Diana Lizarazo at the No. 4 spot.
Â
The sophomore was in control, start to finish. Even when her opponent started playing better, it didn't matter, because Lizarazo was in control of her thoughts and game. That has been a journey made while returning from injury.
Â
"I've been kind of stressing the process and getting there, being patient with myself, giving myself a little bit of grace. I know that it's about time that it's gonna come back to me and I felt really good today," Lizarazo said. "Regardless of what's going on in the court, I try to … I call it shut the radio off. If you have something negative to say, just don't say it. And if it's positive, then I kind of allow myself to do that. And it helps me a lot.
Â
"I had like a simple plan. I knew I had to just start slow and keep the ball in. I think she just went for too much at the start, and she was getting a little bit there at the end, but I was just very consistent all the time. Even though she started making a little bit more balls, I think it had a lot to do with weather and how cold it is. But when she got more balls in, I was just being steady there."
Â
Her victory tied the match at 1, then the Spartans posted straight-sets victories at the bookends of the singles lineup. On the scoreboard the Rams were pushed to the edge, but on the courts, they were in a good spot. Annika Planinsek was up in the third set at No. 2. A court behind her, Leyla Tozin was in the same position.
Â
Within five minutes, they had both put the final touches on victories – Planinsek 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 and Tozin 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. The way it looked, Caves was going to win before either of them.
Â
Tennis can be a fickle game in that regard, the flow of a match switching in an instant. Caves gave her opponent credit for fighting back when she was on the ledge. Then Caves just repaid the favor.
Â
"Even when I was down in the third set, I kept believing in myself, believing I could win that match. I didn't want to let the team down," she said. "She fought back and played better when I was up in the tiebreak. (Assistant coach Scott Langs) just told me at the switch, 'hey, she hit a few good balls.' She did, and I knew I could too."
Â
Two was all she needed, in succession, to start the celebration. It may have felt like déjà vu at the time, but she wasn't about to let it become a replay of prior events.
Â
When the win was secured, and the celebration started to calm a bit, she was in a similar place as her coach. Physically, the win required all she had. Her emotions had carried the same demand.
Â
Â
The junior tried to keep it simple, no matter the circumstances. Down 5-3 in the final set, she kept it positive. Same when she rallied back to take the next three games, then was forced into a second tiebreaker with San Jose State's Emma Fantousis on Friday at the CSU Tennis Complex.
Â
Still the same when Caves went up 6-3 in the tiebreak, only to find the score knotted back up at 6-all. Again.
Â
She'd been there before. Just a set prior. One point away from a straight-sets win, a victory which would have set up a chain of events to give the Rams their first Mountain West victory of the year. She'd have to wait, with Fantousis rallying back to take the tiebreak 13-11 and even their match at one set each.
Â
Déjà vu.
Â
"Yeah, I thought that," Caves said. "But it didn't matter. I knew I was going to do this for the team. I would look over and look at Hanna (Haber) and Stella (Morgan) in the eyes, even Logan (Voeks). I wanted to do it for the team. I never doubted I could win."
Â
Which she did, given that second chance. Back at 6-all in the tiebreak, she won the next two points and then leapt into the air as he 6-4, 6-7 (11-13), 7-6 (8-6) clinched a 4-3 victory for Colorado State.
Â
Tran watched and contemplated. Not just the point-by-point blows the two players exchanged, but the build-up to the drama. Not just in the match, but during the season.
Â
Colorado State – like its counterpart – entered the match 0-4 in league play, and for the Rams, the ride had been a string of 4-0 results. A couple of times a Ram was on the verge of winning when the team score was clinched, denying them even a morsal to build upon going to the next competition.
Â
Watching the team celebrate left her emotional.
Â
"I think about all the things that lead up to that. All the hard work, all the challenges and adversity that these girls face," Tran said. "But they just keep getting up and showing up and that was just the culmination of hard work and finally just really believing that she could do it.
Â
"And it's really cool to witness it. The score just shows how incredible the game of tennis is. It can just take so many ups and downs but at the end of it, it's like how she played is what I'm, you know, this team is super proud of is that she played to win."
Â
The Rams took the long road to the finish line, needing four wins at singles after dropping the doubles point. It started simple enough, a breezy 6-2, 6-2 victory from Diana Lizarazo at the No. 4 spot.
Â
The sophomore was in control, start to finish. Even when her opponent started playing better, it didn't matter, because Lizarazo was in control of her thoughts and game. That has been a journey made while returning from injury.
Â
"I've been kind of stressing the process and getting there, being patient with myself, giving myself a little bit of grace. I know that it's about time that it's gonna come back to me and I felt really good today," Lizarazo said. "Regardless of what's going on in the court, I try to … I call it shut the radio off. If you have something negative to say, just don't say it. And if it's positive, then I kind of allow myself to do that. And it helps me a lot.
Â
"I had like a simple plan. I knew I had to just start slow and keep the ball in. I think she just went for too much at the start, and she was getting a little bit there at the end, but I was just very consistent all the time. Even though she started making a little bit more balls, I think it had a lot to do with weather and how cold it is. But when she got more balls in, I was just being steady there."
Â
Her victory tied the match at 1, then the Spartans posted straight-sets victories at the bookends of the singles lineup. On the scoreboard the Rams were pushed to the edge, but on the courts, they were in a good spot. Annika Planinsek was up in the third set at No. 2. A court behind her, Leyla Tozin was in the same position.
Â
Within five minutes, they had both put the final touches on victories – Planinsek 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 and Tozin 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. The way it looked, Caves was going to win before either of them.
Â
Tennis can be a fickle game in that regard, the flow of a match switching in an instant. Caves gave her opponent credit for fighting back when she was on the ledge. Then Caves just repaid the favor.
Â
"Even when I was down in the third set, I kept believing in myself, believing I could win that match. I didn't want to let the team down," she said. "She fought back and played better when I was up in the tiebreak. (Assistant coach Scott Langs) just told me at the switch, 'hey, she hit a few good balls.' She did, and I knew I could too."
Â
Two was all she needed, in succession, to start the celebration. It may have felt like déjà vu at the time, but she wasn't about to let it become a replay of prior events.
Â
When the win was secured, and the celebration started to calm a bit, she was in a similar place as her coach. Physically, the win required all she had. Her emotions had carried the same demand.
Â
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Duru Durgun / 0 [SJSU]
66
42
#2 Singles Match
123
Soled Fayos Capilla / 0 [SJSU]
623
366
#3 Singles Match
123
Emma Fantousis / 0 [SJSU]
476
667
#4 Singles Match
12
Tara Mihaljevic / 0 [SJSU]
22
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Camila Celis / 0 [SJSU]
463
626
#6 Singles Match
123
Crist Mateos Losada / 0 [SJSU]
760
620
Order of Finish:
4,1,6,2,5,3
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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