Buffaloes Take Down Rams

BOULDER – The Colorado tennis team kept the school's longest win streak intact Friday afternoon with a 6-1 victory against Colorado State University here.

"We're still kind of experimenting with our doubles lineup, we still have a lot of work to do, obviously," said Head Coach Danielle Steinberg. "We're not always going to be able to come back in singles and win all six points so doubles is definitely a priority for us. Hopefully tomorrow we come out a little better and a little more aggressive, be able to win the doubles point. I'm very happy how we came out with singles. Monica dropping the first set but then really getting it together and winning those two sets at the end was huge. I think everyone did a really good job. It was fun being at home for the first time."

The team had to come together after dropping the doubles point but began taking set after set to extend the win streak to 35-0 against the Rams all-time.

Following the doubles despair, a pair of freshmen reclaimed the lead for CU with Maria Campos and Antonia Balzert taking the No.3 and No.2 singles matches, respectfully. Campos defeated Priscilla Palermo 6-3, 6-4, while Balzert conquered Emily Luetschwager 6-3, 7-5.

One of the strongest displays of perseverance came in the No.1 singles match with Monica Malinen. CSU's Stella Cliffe was in control the entire first set, taking it 6-1. Malinen recovered and took the second set 6-2 before finishing off the comeback 6-3 in the third set.

The victory was clinched when freshman Sophia Derivan took care of Alyssa Grijalva in the No.4 singles match 6-3, 6-2. Megan Forster kept things going, winning the No.5 singles match by the exact same score against Anastasiia Kotsyuba.

The final match featured Tallulah Farrow against Emma Corwin in the No.6 match. She took the first set 7-5 then pushed to a 6-1 victory in the second to seal the win.

The Buffs dropped the doubles point to start out the match, but not without Campos and Derivan dominating the No.3 doubles match by a score of 6-0. Sara Nayar and Malinen, the 31^st-ranked duo in the nation, dropped their first dual doubles match 6-4 against Leutschwager/Cliffe.

Colorado takes on Air Force Saturday, though the location and time is still fluid. Check for updates on the CUBuffsTennis Twitter account as the teams decide on whether to play outside or indoors.

RESULTS
SINGLES
1. Monica Malinen (COLO) def. Stella Cliffe (CSU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. Antonia Balzert (COLO) def. Emily Luetschwager (CSU) 6-3, 7-5
3. Maria Campos (COLO) def. Priscilla Palermo (CSU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Sophia Derivan (COLO) def. Alyssa Grijalva (CSU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Megan Forster (COLO) def. Anastasiia Kotsyuba (CSU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Tallulah Farrow (COLO) vs. Emma Corwin (CSU) 7-5, 6-1

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1, 4, 5, 6

DOUBLES
1. Cliffe/Leutschwager (CSU) def. #31 Malinen/Nayar (COLO) 6-4
2. Palermo/Grijalva (CSU) def. Balzert/Ecton (COLO) 6-3
3. Campos/Derivan (COLO) def. Kotsyuba/Corwin (CSU) 6-0

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1

Next Event

Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Antonia Balzert

Maria Campos

Sophia Derivan

Tallulah Farrow

Megan Forster

Monica Malinen

Sara Nayar