Wednesday, January 30
Boulder, Colo.
11:00 AM
Colorado
4
vs
3
New Mexico
Photo by: Benko Photographics
Freshmen Rally Buffs To Come-From-Behind Win
January 30, 2019 | Tennis
BOULDER – Colorado's bottom three lineup positions carried the Buffs to a come-from-behind 4-3 win over New Mexico at the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center on Wednesday. CU trailed 3-1 early on, but picked up wins at No. 2, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 singles to improve to 2-1 on the season. The Lobos dropped to 3-3.
Three of the four Buffs that earned victories were freshmen.
DOUBLES: New Mexico took the first doubles match, earning a 6-2 victory at No. 2 as Polly Chen and Albie Huang defeated Ky Ecton and Sara Nayar. The Lobos went up a break with the first game and pulled away from a 3-2 lead by winning the final three frames.
They clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win at No. 3, with Natasha Munday and Bronte Murgett edging Tallulah Farrow and Megan Forster. At 2-2, New Mexico broke Farrow's serve and both teams split the remaining games.
The Buffs played strong at No. 1 doubles, but the match was abandoned when the doubles point was clinched. They immediately went up a break, through New Mexico evened things up at 2-2. The match finished 4-4 when play was stopped.
SINGLES: New Mexico went up 2-0 in the match after Murgett defeated Nayar 7-5, 6-1 at No. 3 singles. Nayar trailed by two breaks at 4-2 in the first set, but rallied back to even the set up at 5-5 before Murgett pulled away. She struggled to hold serve in the second set, winning just one of three service games.
The shutout was short-lived for the Lobos as the freshman Forster cut the Buffs's deficit in half just one minute after Nayar's match finished. Forster breezed past Huang 6-0, 6-2 at the No. 2 position. After blanking Huang in the first set, she quickly fell behind a break after dropping the first game, but then immediately broke Huang's serve to pull back even, and never trailed again.
New Mexico led 3-1 after Ruth Copas beat Annabelle Andrinopoulos 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. Copas dominated deuce points in the match, winning six of seven deuces throughout the two sets. In the second set, Copas broke Andrinopoulos's serve to start the set and the two traded games until Copas won the final two games after leading 4-3.
Malinen, a junior transfer, cut New Mexico's lead in half again as she cruised to a 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 4 singles for the Buffs over Danielle Quevedo. She jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set to make quick work of her opponent. In the second set, the two players traded serves until each broke each other after Malinen led 4-3. Quevedo extended the match and then took a 6-5 lead, before Malinen recovered. Quevedo double faulted the first three points of the final game and Malinen then hit a backhand that was unreturnable to clinch the match.
Farrow, a freshman from Australia, won 6-4, 6-3 at No. 5 singles over Munday to even the overall match score at 3-3. She had to come back twice in the first set, down a break at 2-0 and again at 4-3, before winning the final three games. In the second set, she jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held on for the win.
Ecton, a freshman from Fort Collins, had a wild match at No. 6, clinching the match with a 7-6 (2), 6-4 win over Chen. She was down 4-1 with Chen serving in the first set when she clicked into gear, winning five of the next six games to lead 6-5, and then breezing through the tiebreaker 7-2. In the second set, she fell behind 3-1, but instantly won back the break and took four of the final five games to give the Buffs the victory.
NOTES: CU improved to 19-18 all-time vs. New Mexico, including three consecutive wins in the series ... Forster and Malinen improved to 3-0 in dual matches this spring ... it was Ecton's first career match-clinching singles victory.
UP NEXT: The Buffs will head to Minneapolis for two neutral-site matches this weekend against DePaul and Montana.
QUOTES:
Head coach Danielle Steinberg
On the team's resiliency to come back from a 3-1 deficit
"I love our attitude at No. 4, 5, 6 (singles positions). I think getting down 3-1 and maybe not having the best matches at 1 and 3, not playing our best doubles, and then 4, 5 and 6 just getting on the court and fighting from the first point—I absolutely loved it. And we had a tough 4-3 loss a few days ago and it really just shows that it doesn't matter where you are in the lineup. You can contribute any given week. Our last 4-3 loss (to Air Force on Sunday), maybe we struggled at the bottom and today the bottom carried us."
On freshman Ky Ecton clinching the win
"It's awesome and I just told her she'll remember this for the rest of her life. It's very special to clinch a 4-3, especially as a freshman. I think she showed a lot of discipline at the end, served big for those last couple of games, and really was just tougher than her opponent."
On freshman Megan Forster bringing energy to the team
"That's kind of her role on the team. I know that Megan is going to bring it any day and that's huge for a coach. I always tell them we don't know what tennis we can bring, but the energy and the fight should always be there, and with Megan, I know that it's always going to be there. That's huge for us."
On Monica Malinen bringing leadership and experience to the team
"I think we're very pleased with how Monica started the season. She's kind of being silent a little bit, but a silent killer over there and finishing matches rather quickly and winning for us. I think she's starting to get a little more confident coming forward, coming to the net, and we need her. Having Monica strong will do a lot for us."
Colorado 4, New Mexico 3
Jan 30, 2019 at Boulder, Colo. (Rocky Mountain Tennis Center)
Three of the four Buffs that earned victories were freshmen.
DOUBLES: New Mexico took the first doubles match, earning a 6-2 victory at No. 2 as Polly Chen and Albie Huang defeated Ky Ecton and Sara Nayar. The Lobos went up a break with the first game and pulled away from a 3-2 lead by winning the final three frames.
They clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win at No. 3, with Natasha Munday and Bronte Murgett edging Tallulah Farrow and Megan Forster. At 2-2, New Mexico broke Farrow's serve and both teams split the remaining games.
The Buffs played strong at No. 1 doubles, but the match was abandoned when the doubles point was clinched. They immediately went up a break, through New Mexico evened things up at 2-2. The match finished 4-4 when play was stopped.
SINGLES: New Mexico went up 2-0 in the match after Murgett defeated Nayar 7-5, 6-1 at No. 3 singles. Nayar trailed by two breaks at 4-2 in the first set, but rallied back to even the set up at 5-5 before Murgett pulled away. She struggled to hold serve in the second set, winning just one of three service games.
The shutout was short-lived for the Lobos as the freshman Forster cut the Buffs's deficit in half just one minute after Nayar's match finished. Forster breezed past Huang 6-0, 6-2 at the No. 2 position. After blanking Huang in the first set, she quickly fell behind a break after dropping the first game, but then immediately broke Huang's serve to pull back even, and never trailed again.
New Mexico led 3-1 after Ruth Copas beat Annabelle Andrinopoulos 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. Copas dominated deuce points in the match, winning six of seven deuces throughout the two sets. In the second set, Copas broke Andrinopoulos's serve to start the set and the two traded games until Copas won the final two games after leading 4-3.
Malinen, a junior transfer, cut New Mexico's lead in half again as she cruised to a 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 4 singles for the Buffs over Danielle Quevedo. She jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set to make quick work of her opponent. In the second set, the two players traded serves until each broke each other after Malinen led 4-3. Quevedo extended the match and then took a 6-5 lead, before Malinen recovered. Quevedo double faulted the first three points of the final game and Malinen then hit a backhand that was unreturnable to clinch the match.
Farrow, a freshman from Australia, won 6-4, 6-3 at No. 5 singles over Munday to even the overall match score at 3-3. She had to come back twice in the first set, down a break at 2-0 and again at 4-3, before winning the final three games. In the second set, she jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held on for the win.
Ecton, a freshman from Fort Collins, had a wild match at No. 6, clinching the match with a 7-6 (2), 6-4 win over Chen. She was down 4-1 with Chen serving in the first set when she clicked into gear, winning five of the next six games to lead 6-5, and then breezing through the tiebreaker 7-2. In the second set, she fell behind 3-1, but instantly won back the break and took four of the final five games to give the Buffs the victory.
NOTES: CU improved to 19-18 all-time vs. New Mexico, including three consecutive wins in the series ... Forster and Malinen improved to 3-0 in dual matches this spring ... it was Ecton's first career match-clinching singles victory.
UP NEXT: The Buffs will head to Minneapolis for two neutral-site matches this weekend against DePaul and Montana.
QUOTES:
Head coach Danielle Steinberg
On the team's resiliency to come back from a 3-1 deficit
"I love our attitude at No. 4, 5, 6 (singles positions). I think getting down 3-1 and maybe not having the best matches at 1 and 3, not playing our best doubles, and then 4, 5 and 6 just getting on the court and fighting from the first point—I absolutely loved it. And we had a tough 4-3 loss a few days ago and it really just shows that it doesn't matter where you are in the lineup. You can contribute any given week. Our last 4-3 loss (to Air Force on Sunday), maybe we struggled at the bottom and today the bottom carried us."
On freshman Ky Ecton clinching the win
"It's awesome and I just told her she'll remember this for the rest of her life. It's very special to clinch a 4-3, especially as a freshman. I think she showed a lot of discipline at the end, served big for those last couple of games, and really was just tougher than her opponent."
On freshman Megan Forster bringing energy to the team
"That's kind of her role on the team. I know that Megan is going to bring it any day and that's huge for a coach. I always tell them we don't know what tennis we can bring, but the energy and the fight should always be there, and with Megan, I know that it's always going to be there. That's huge for us."
On Monica Malinen bringing leadership and experience to the team
"I think we're very pleased with how Monica started the season. She's kind of being silent a little bit, but a silent killer over there and finishing matches rather quickly and winning for us. I think she's starting to get a little more confident coming forward, coming to the net, and we need her. Having Monica strong will do a lot for us."
Colorado 4, New Mexico 3
Jan 30, 2019 at Boulder, Colo. (Rocky Mountain Tennis Center)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Copas, Ruth (UNM) def. Andrinopoulos, Annabelle (COLO) 6-3, 6-3 |
| 2. Forster, Megan (COLO) def. Huang, Hsiang-Wen (UNM) 6-0, 6-3 |
| 3. Murgett, Bronte (UNM) def. Nayar, Sara (COLO) 7-5, 6-1 |
| 4. Malinen, Monica (COLO) def. Quevedo, Danielle (UNM) 6-1, 7-5 |
| 5. Farrow, Tallulah (COLO) def. Munday, Natasha (UNM) 6-4, 6-3 |
| 6. Ecton, Ky (COLO) def. Chen, Yue Lin (UNM) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Andrinopoulos, Annabelle/Malinen, Monica (COLO) vs. Copas, Ruth/Quevedo, Danielle (UNM) 4-4, unfinished |
| 2. Chen, Yue Lin/Huang, Hsiang-Wen (UNM) def. Ecton, Ky/Nayar, Sara (COLO) 6-2 |
| 3. Munday, Natasha/Murgett, Bronte (UNM) def. Farrow, Tallulah/Forster, Megan (COLO) 6-4 |
| Match Notes |
| New Mexico 3-3 |
| Colorado 2-1 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (3,2,1,4,5,6) |
| T-4:15 A-120 |
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Copas, Ruth / 0 [UNM]
66
33
#2 Singles Match
12
Huang, Hsiang-Wen / 0 [UNM]
03
66
#3 Singles Match
12
Murgett, Bronte / 0 [UNM]
76
51
#4 Singles Match
12
Quevedo, Danielle / 0 [UNM]
15
67
#5 Singles Match
12
Munday, Natasha / 0 [UNM]
43
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Chen, Yue Lin / 0 [UNM]
64
76
Order of Finish:
3,2,1,4,5,6
Players Mentioned
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