Colorado University Athletics
Friday, September 28
Boulder, Colo.
All Day
Colorado
vs
Day 1
Megan Forster cruised to a straight-set win in singles on Friday.
Photo by: Andy Schlichting
Perfect Singles Play Highlights First Day Of CU Invitational
September 28, 2018 | Tennis
BOULDER – A new era of Colorado tennis began on Friday as the Buffaloes held their first competition under new head coach Danielle Steinberg, the CU Invitational at CU's South Campus Tennis Complex. The Buffs got off to an excellent start, finishing 6-0 in singles matches and 4-2 in doubles play.
DOUBLES PLAY: The tournament opened with the first two rounds of doubles on Friday morning. Ilana Oleynik and Ky Ecton had a perfect day in the Doubles C Draw, going 2-0 with a 6-1 win over a pair from Northern Colorado and a 6-3 win over opponents from Colorado State.
Megan Forster and Brigitte Beck reached the semifinals of the Doubles A Draw with a 6-1 win in the first round, before falling 6-2 to opponents from San Diego. Monica Malinen and Vera Markovic opened the day with a 7-6 victory in the first round of the Doubles B Draw against Northern Colorado, but were edged 7-6 in the semifinals from two players from Wisconsin.
SINGLES PLAY: Singles was CU's strongest area of play on Friday. The Buffs breezed through singles, winning all six of their matches.
Forster, a freshman from London, cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Sandra Keta (Northern Colorado) in the quarterfinals of the Ralphie Draw. Malinen finished moments later in the quarterfinals of the CU Draw with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Synclair Larson (Northern Colorado). Markovic, a freshman from Belgrade, Serbia, also picked up a victory in the first round of the Chip Draw, winning 6-4, 6-4 over Sacramento State's Sonya Gulnova.
The second set of singles play was just as successful as the Buffs continued to roll. Oleynik earned a 6-3, 6-4 over Wisconsin's Christina Zordani. Ecton, a freshman from Fort Collins, rallied from down a set to defeat Riley Reeves (CSU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, and Beck did the same, topping UNC's Sarina Chhabra 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
NOTES: Four new Buffs earned their first career wins in a CU uniform as freshmen Forster, Markovic and Ecton all won in their first collegiate competitions, and Malinen, a transfer from Western Kentucky, earned her first win as a Buff ... Beck won her 15th career singles match and Oleynik now has 21 career doubles wins at CU after winning twice on Friday.
UP NEXT: The CU Invitational will continue on Saturday at CU's South Campus Tennis Complex with play beginning at 10 a.m. The teams will compete with the final round of doubles before playing one round of singles. The tournament completes on Sunday with the final round of singles.
POSTMATCH QUOTES:
Danielle Steinberg, head coach
On the first competition of the season
"I think overall it was really positive. I think everyone was nervous with first-match jitters, even the returners because it's their first match of the year and first tournament under our staff. I loved the attitude in doubles. We came out with a lot of energy and surprisingly played decent doubles. We haven't had time to work on it yet, but I was really happy with what we saw in doubles today. Everyone fought in singles, which is really what we asked them to do today. We knew the level of tennis wasn't going to be perfect yet, but we asked them to focus on the positive attitude and the hard work and the fighting and everyone really showed up today. Overall, we were really pleased.
On seeing Beck and Ecton battle back from down a set to win
"Those are great things to see for us as coaches to see what they're made of and how they respond in pressure situations and know what we need to work on [when they were exposed]. You never know what we really need to work on until we play a real match, when the full emotion is on. So I think seeing them fight was great because that's my No. 1 thing with any team that I coach. If we have that, we can build on that and get really good. First, we need to compete and know how to battle and really get the most out of yourself."
DAY ONE RESULTS:
Singles Ralphie Draw
Megan Forster (CU) def. Sandra Keta (UNC) 6-1, 6-2
Singles Chip Draw
Vera Markovic (CU) def. Sonya Gulnova (Sac State) 6-4, 6-4
Singles CU Draw
Monica Malinen (CU) def. Synclair Larson (UNC) 6-2, 6-2
Singles Boulder Draw
Ilana Oleynik (CU) def. Christina Zordani (Wisconsin) 6-3, 6-4
Brigitte Beck (CU) def. Sarina Chhabra (UNC) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
Singles Gold Draw
Ky Ecton (CU) def. Riley Reeves (CSU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles A Draw
Brigitte Beck/Megan Forster (CU) def. Anna Battersby/Sandra Ketz (UNC) 6-1
Solymar Colling/Maria-Paula Torres (USD) def. Beck/Forster (CU) 6-2
Doubles B Draw
Monica Malinen/Vera Markovic (CU) def. Synclair Larson/Sarina Chhabra (UNC) 7-6
Melissa Pick/Christina Zordani (Wisconsin) def. Malinen/Markovic (CU) 7-6
Doubles C Draw
Ky Ecton/Ilana Oleynik (CU) def. Mana Koitabashi/Elisabeth Walsh (UNC) 6-1
Ecton/Oleynik (CU) def. Priscilla Palermo/Riley Reeves (CSU) 6-3
DOUBLES PLAY: The tournament opened with the first two rounds of doubles on Friday morning. Ilana Oleynik and Ky Ecton had a perfect day in the Doubles C Draw, going 2-0 with a 6-1 win over a pair from Northern Colorado and a 6-3 win over opponents from Colorado State.
Megan Forster and Brigitte Beck reached the semifinals of the Doubles A Draw with a 6-1 win in the first round, before falling 6-2 to opponents from San Diego. Monica Malinen and Vera Markovic opened the day with a 7-6 victory in the first round of the Doubles B Draw against Northern Colorado, but were edged 7-6 in the semifinals from two players from Wisconsin.
SINGLES PLAY: Singles was CU's strongest area of play on Friday. The Buffs breezed through singles, winning all six of their matches.
Forster, a freshman from London, cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Sandra Keta (Northern Colorado) in the quarterfinals of the Ralphie Draw. Malinen finished moments later in the quarterfinals of the CU Draw with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Synclair Larson (Northern Colorado). Markovic, a freshman from Belgrade, Serbia, also picked up a victory in the first round of the Chip Draw, winning 6-4, 6-4 over Sacramento State's Sonya Gulnova.
The second set of singles play was just as successful as the Buffs continued to roll. Oleynik earned a 6-3, 6-4 over Wisconsin's Christina Zordani. Ecton, a freshman from Fort Collins, rallied from down a set to defeat Riley Reeves (CSU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, and Beck did the same, topping UNC's Sarina Chhabra 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
NOTES: Four new Buffs earned their first career wins in a CU uniform as freshmen Forster, Markovic and Ecton all won in their first collegiate competitions, and Malinen, a transfer from Western Kentucky, earned her first win as a Buff ... Beck won her 15th career singles match and Oleynik now has 21 career doubles wins at CU after winning twice on Friday.
UP NEXT: The CU Invitational will continue on Saturday at CU's South Campus Tennis Complex with play beginning at 10 a.m. The teams will compete with the final round of doubles before playing one round of singles. The tournament completes on Sunday with the final round of singles.
POSTMATCH QUOTES:
Danielle Steinberg, head coach
On the first competition of the season
"I think overall it was really positive. I think everyone was nervous with first-match jitters, even the returners because it's their first match of the year and first tournament under our staff. I loved the attitude in doubles. We came out with a lot of energy and surprisingly played decent doubles. We haven't had time to work on it yet, but I was really happy with what we saw in doubles today. Everyone fought in singles, which is really what we asked them to do today. We knew the level of tennis wasn't going to be perfect yet, but we asked them to focus on the positive attitude and the hard work and the fighting and everyone really showed up today. Overall, we were really pleased.
On seeing Beck and Ecton battle back from down a set to win
"Those are great things to see for us as coaches to see what they're made of and how they respond in pressure situations and know what we need to work on [when they were exposed]. You never know what we really need to work on until we play a real match, when the full emotion is on. So I think seeing them fight was great because that's my No. 1 thing with any team that I coach. If we have that, we can build on that and get really good. First, we need to compete and know how to battle and really get the most out of yourself."
DAY ONE RESULTS:
Singles Ralphie Draw
Megan Forster (CU) def. Sandra Keta (UNC) 6-1, 6-2
Singles Chip Draw
Vera Markovic (CU) def. Sonya Gulnova (Sac State) 6-4, 6-4
Singles CU Draw
Monica Malinen (CU) def. Synclair Larson (UNC) 6-2, 6-2
Singles Boulder Draw
Ilana Oleynik (CU) def. Christina Zordani (Wisconsin) 6-3, 6-4
Brigitte Beck (CU) def. Sarina Chhabra (UNC) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
Singles Gold Draw
Ky Ecton (CU) def. Riley Reeves (CSU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles A Draw
Brigitte Beck/Megan Forster (CU) def. Anna Battersby/Sandra Ketz (UNC) 6-1
Solymar Colling/Maria-Paula Torres (USD) def. Beck/Forster (CU) 6-2
Doubles B Draw
Monica Malinen/Vera Markovic (CU) def. Synclair Larson/Sarina Chhabra (UNC) 7-6
Melissa Pick/Christina Zordani (Wisconsin) def. Malinen/Markovic (CU) 7-6
Doubles C Draw
Ky Ecton/Ilana Oleynik (CU) def. Mana Koitabashi/Elisabeth Walsh (UNC) 6-1
Ecton/Oleynik (CU) def. Priscilla Palermo/Riley Reeves (CSU) 6-3
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