Colorado
Colorado State
Buffs Sweep In-State Rival CSU Rams 7-0
January 22, 2017 | Tennis
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Building off their first win of the season, the University of Colorado women's tennis team won their second match of the weekend sweeping their in-state rivals, the Colorado State Rams 7-0 here at the Fort Collins Country Club.
The Buffs, having already beating the Northern Colorado Bears in Boulder on Saturday, came to Fort Collins looking to continue their early season roll and thanks to another strong performance in doubles and a winning performance from CU's top three the Buffs did just that.
This was the back end of a back-to-back the Buffs had this weekend, and it's already the second win of the season for the Buffs against schools in Colorado.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs started the day strong and set the tone of the match in doubles coming out strong taking the point without dropping a match.
Maintaining the same pairings that won them the doubles point the day prior, the Buffs sophomore combination of Annabelle Andrinopoulos and Ilana Oleynik gave CU their first win of the day taking down the Ram pairing of Riley Reeves and Solene Crawley 6-1.
The clinching point came shortly after when senior Nuria Ormeño Ruiz and freshman Chloe Hule won their second match of the weekend together beating CSU's Madison Porter and Celine Voss 6-3 to give the Buffs the early 1-0 lead in the match.
Heading into singles the Buffs were feeling confident having easily handled the Rams in doubles and coming out to snag the first point to continue that momentum was Buff junior Louise Ronaldson.
Ronaldson, playing in the No. 3 slot, took on CSU's Reeves and she had no problem with her opponent winning easily in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to give the Buffs a quick 2-0 lead in the match.
For Ronaldson, it's her fourth win of the season as she hasn't dropped a match yet during the first two weekends of the season.
CU's Ruiz, once again playing in the No. 1 spot, held serve on her national ranking of 77th defeating CSU's Emily Kolbow in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 to give the Buffs a commanding 3-0 lead in the match.
A true battle came at the No. 2 spot in what became the deciding match on the day and for the Buffs clinched the win.
CU junior Jeannez Daniel took on CSU's Alyssa Grijalva and after easily taking the first set 6-2, Daniel let Grijalva scramble back into the match dropping the second set 6-3. The two entered the third and deciding set with the Buffs one set away from finishing off the Rams.
Daniel didn't allow Grijalva any breathing room in the third set jumping on her early taking the first three games to get off to a 3-0 lead.
Once she had the lead Daniel made sure to not let Grijalva any opportunities to get back into the set, fighting off any attacks that Grijalva made on the lead. Daniel eventually won the third set 6-4 and the win wrapped up the overall match for CU with the score sitting at 4-0.
"Daniel again clinched the whole match for us today, and she played in a tight third set to do it," said CU head coach Nicole Kenneally. "She finished strong, she did have to fight back a bit but she definitely finished strong in the third set."
It was the second clinching point of the weekend for Daniel and she remains undefeated early in the season with her fourth win.
Andrinopoulos took the No. 4 spot and she defeated CSU's Voss in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (8). Voss put up a fight in the second set to force the tiebreaker but Andrinopoulos handled her business and with the win her record on the spring season improves to 3-1.
CU's Hule found herself in a battle with CSU's Sandra Keta, playing in the No. 5 positon, the two battled to a super-tiebreaker before Hule continued CU's dominance over the Rams winning the match 6-3, 4-6, 11-9. Hule faced a steep climb in the super-breaker falling behind 9-4 before ripping off seven straight points to take the set and match.
Finishing the sweep off was CU's Oleynik who, playing at the No. 6, put the final touches on the Buff victory and in fitting fashion she beat CSU's Crawley in straight sets 6-1, 6-0 to wrap up the match and give CU the 7-0 win.
CU STANDOUTS: CU's top three spots held by Ruiz (team best 11-4), Daniel (8-1) and Ronaldson (9-2) boast a 11-1 combined record so far in the spring season.
NOTEWORTHY: Ruiz is yet again on the move up CU's all-time wins lists, as her win in singles moves her to 15th overall (72-40) and her win in doubles means she now ranks 23rd on the doubles total wins list (51-44).
QUOTEWORTHY:
Nicole Kenneally, CU head coach
On Getting the Sweep
"A 7-0 win is great and obviously to do it against CSU on their home courts is great too. We came out and we played better doubles today then we did yesterday so that's a real positive. In singles, we were once again playing in a three-court complex so we first sent out our one, two and three. We got good starts there and for our four, five and six to go out being in a position where there could be a little bit of a letdown since we already one the team match, it was really good for those three to go out and close like they did. Annabelle [Andrinopoulos] won in a good tight match and Chloe [Hule] was down 9-4 in a super-tiebreaker but she was able to fight back for a 11-9 win. We definitely put ourselves in positions of vulnerability but we found our way out of it. Those are good experiences to have early in the season and then to find a way out of a hole like we did was good."
On the Performance of the Top Three
"It's really important to have a strong three but it's just as important to have a bottom strong three as well. The three of them right now are doing great and leading the team well. They're taking care of business and we're continually striving to get better in all positions. We want to continue to build ourselves to be stronger mentally and physically so as the season goes along and the experiences build up we know that if we don't have the lead we want that we can still go out and get it done. Those top three are playing great and we're just going to continue to work hard to improve."
UPCOMING: The Buffs return to action this weekend as they travel to Boise, Idaho for two matches. First on January 28, the Buffs play the Eastern Washington Eagles and on January 29 the Buffs play the Boise State Broncos.
Colorado 7, Colorado State 0
January 22, 2017 at Fort Collins, Colo. (Fort Collins Country Club)
Singles:
1. No. 77 Nuria Ormeño Ruiz (CU) def. Emily Kolbow (CSU) 6-4, 6-4
2. Jeannez Daniel (CU) def. Alyssa Grijalva (CSU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
3. Louise Ronaldson (CU) def. Riley Reeves (CSU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Annabelle Andrinopoulos (CU) def. Celine Voss (CSU) 6-3, 7-6 (8)
5. Chloe Hule (CU) def. Sandra Keta (CSU) 6-3, 4-6, (11-9)
6. Ilana Oleynik (CU) def. Solene Crawley (CSU) 6-1, 6-0
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2*, 4, 5, 6
Doubles:
1. Jeannez Daniel/Louise Ronaldson (CU) v. Emily Kolbow/Alyssa Grijalva (CSU) DNF
2. Nuria Ormeño Ruiz/Chloe Hule (CU) def. Madison Porter/Celine Voss (CSU) 6-3
3. Annabelle Andrinopoulos/Ilana Oleynik (CU) def. Riley Reeves/Solene Crawley (CSU) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2*
Players Mentioned
