DENVER – Everything was working on Friday for the MSU Denver tennis team, who dominated Colorado Mesa in a pair of matches at the Regency Athletic Complex. The Roadrunner women silenced the Mavericks 7-0 in their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener, while the men beat Colorado Mesa 6-1.
"The women continue to come out and execute at the right moments which is great to see," MSU Denver coach
Josh Graetz (Albury, Australia/The Scots School) said. "Our ability to close out points in doubles has really helped our confidence moving into singles. Overall, I was really impressed with the match."
The Roadrunner women evened their record in dual matches at 9-9 with their second straight 7-0 victory.
Alex Pessoa (Denver, Colo./Home-schooled) and
Helena Steenberg (Skodsborg, Denmark/Naerum Gymnasium, Naerum, Denmark) showed out in No. 1 doubles, beating RMAC Preseason Player of the Year Kristen Kirby and partner Emily Beckley by a score of 7-5.
Tabitha Porter (Auckland, New Zealand/Northcote College) and
Mackenzie Hotan (Beaverton, OR/Southridge H.S.) secured the doubles point with a 6-3 win over Georgia Hansen and Maike Waldburger in the No. 2 slot, while
Olivia Kaiser (Aachen, Germany/Bischoefliches Gymnasium St. Ursula, Geilenkirchen) and
Eliza McKean (Buderim, Queensland, Australia/Sunshine Coast Grammar School) made it a doubles sweep with a 6-1 victory over Taylor Hershey and Rebecca Osterberg in No. 3 doubles.
Porter avenged a three-set loss to Kirby from Feb. 28 with a No. 1 singles win on Friday afternoon, emerging victorious by a count of 6-2, 7-6 (8). Porter, ranked No. 48 in Division II by the ITA, is now 2-1 this season against the RMAC Preseason Player of the Year selection. Pessoa took care of business against Beckley once again in No. 2 singles, surrendering just one set in a 6-1, 6-0 win.
Steenberg triumphed over Osterberg in the No. 3 slot, winning 6-3, 6-1, while Kaiser defeated Hansen in a competitive match in No. 4 singles (6-4, 4-6, 6-2). McKean beat Hershey 6-2, 6-3, while
Ainsley Winterrowd (Lacey, Wash./North Thurston) defeated Waldburger in another competitive match by a score of 6-2, 5-7, 10-6.
While the women continued their impressive stretch of play, the men were nearly perfect in their 6-1 win over the Mavericks as well. After losing the doubles point to CSU-Pueblo to trail early in Wednesday's match with the ThunderWolves, the men knew what they needed to fix in Friday's match.
"The men came out with much better energy today," Graetz said.
Joey Tscherne (Sylmar, Calif./John F. Kennedy) and
Mateo Besada (Buenos Aires, Argentina/SEADEA) set the tone in No. 1 doubles with a 6-2 win over Alain De La Bastide and Lucas Martin, while
David Kijak (Aurora, Colo./Odyssey Charter School (Nev.)) and
Alejandro Martinez-Morilla (Madrid, Spain/I.E. Valdecas) locked up the doubles point with a 6-3 win over Max Lindqvist and William Agritelley.
Tscherne, ranked 49
th in Division II by the ITA, went on to earn a hard-fought victory in No. 1 singles over Lindqvist (6-1, 4-6, 6-4).
Daniel Llorente (Malaga, Spain/) found a cure for Moises Cure in No. 2 singles, winning 6-1, 6-3, while Martinez-Morilla squeaked by Christian Albrechtsen (7-6 (5), 6-4). Besada came back from a first-set deficit in No. 4 singles, winning the second and third sets by a count of 6-2 each time after dropping the first set 7-5.
David Kijak (Aurora, Colo./Odyssey Charter School (Nev.)) picked up MSU Denver's sixth point with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Martin in No. 5 singles.
"I don't think we necessarily played our best tennis today but we found a way to win which is really important moving forward," Graetz said. "Mesa is always a tough opponent so the way we won today has given the guys a lot of confidence."
The MSU Denver women are back in action at 10 a.m. MDT tomorrow, hosting Dixie State at the Regency Athletic Complex in another RMAC match. The men will take Saturday off before heading to Greeley, Colo., to face Division I Northern Colorado at noon Sunday.
