Colorado
Air Force
Tennis Opens Season With Victory Over AFA
January 21, 2012 | Tennis
BOULDER - The University of Colorado women's tennis team rallied to win four of five singles points to defeat the United States Air Force Academy, 4-2, late Friday night in a non-conference match played at the Millennium Hotel Harvest House bubble. The match was the opener for both schools.
"It was great to see how we would deal with the adversity of losing the doubles point right out of the gate and individually everyone did well in singles to go out and take care of their court," said CU head coach Nicole Kenneally. It was Kenneally's 130th career win at CU.
"Air Force is always a great competitive team that competes to the end, and on Sunday, LSU will be a notch above USAFA, so we will come out Saturday with a solid practice, review some things and then get ready for Sunday."
CU won four of five singles after losing the doubles point and trailing 1-0. Picking up the lone doubles win for the Buffs was sophomore Winde Janssens and freshman Julyette Steur, as they defeated Hannah Dake and Anastasia Hueffner, 8-5.
The Buffs quickly took a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 advantage on the scoreboard as Steur and sophomore Kristina Schleich won straight set matches at No. 3 and No. 2, respectively. Schleich won her ninth match of the year defeating Tahlia Smoke, 6-2, 6-2; while Steur went two-for-two on the day in her collegiate debut defeating Christine Molina, 6-1, 7-6(4).
Air Force Melissa Cecil evened the score at two at the top singles slot defeating Janssens, 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-2. It was Janssens first match of her career playing the No. 1 singles position.
With the team score tied at two, the home team gained the advantage, securing the No. 4 and No. 5 spots for the 4-2 win.
Redshirt-sophomore Erin Sanders returned to form after battling injuries for most of last year, defeating Hannah Dake, 7-5, 6-2; and sophomore Carla Manzi Tenorio clinched the match with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Tiffany Tran. It was Manzi Tenorio's fifth singles victory of the year.
The No. 6 singles match between Camille Sabourin and Natasho Rizvi did not finish.
CU hosts LSU on Sunday at Millennium Hotel Harvest House beginning at 10 a.m.
Colorado 4, Air Force 2
CU (1-0), AFA (0-1)
Boulder, Colo., Millennium Hotel Harvest House
Friday, January 20
1d) Cecil/Smoke (AFA) def. Manzi Tenorio/Schleich (CU) 8-6
2d) Janssens/Steur (CU) def. Dake/Hueffner (AFA) 8-5
3d) Tran/Molina (AFA) Anuszkiewicz/Sanders (CU) 8-6
Order of Finish: 1, 2, *3
1s) Melissa Cecil (AFA) def. Winde Janssens (CU) 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-2
2s) Kristina Schleich (CU) def. Tahlia Smoke (AFA) 6-2, 6-2
3s) Julyette Steur (CU) def Christine Molina (AFA) 6-1, 7-6(4)
4s) Erin Sanders (CU) def. Hannah Dake (AFA) 7-5, 6-2
5s) Carla Manzi Tenorio (CU) def. Tiffany Tran (AFA) 7-5, 6-2
6s) Camille Sabourin (CU) vs. Natasho Rizvi (AFA) - did not finish
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1, 4, *5, DNF
Players Mentioned
