Catlin leads women's tennis team in first tournament

FORT COLLINS – In the first tournament of the fall, the Northern Colorado women's tennis had a stellar outing at the 2011 Colorado State Invitational.

The two teams competed in a round-robin format with two singles brackets and one double bracket. The Bears were victorious in six of the 18 singles matches and won two of the nine doubles sets.

"We played a ton of tennis this weekend," said Head Coach Brenda Vlasak. "Overall, we competed hard and I felt like we were successful in many matches. Almost every match went to three sets and we showed a ton of heart on the court this weekend."

Sophomore Stephanie Catlin certainly had a breakout weekend posting a perfect 3-0 mark in singles play.  In the first round, Catlin defeated Lauren Pick in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1. She then bounced back after an opening set loss to Veronika Wojakowska, 6-1 to win the next two, 7-6, 6-0 and in the tournament's final round she swept Adriana Wojakowska 6-2, 6-1. Catlin also partnered with freshman Chrissie Hoolahan and went 1-2 in the tournament. The pair lost a heartbreaker in the first round, falling 9-8 (10-8) to Tori Arneson and V. Wojakowska, but bounced back for an 8-2 victory over Pick and A. Wojakowska. On Sunday, they lost an 8-3 set to Lauren Mulhern and Kaley Schultz.

"Steph really stepped up this weekend," said Vlasak. "She has shown a lot of growth in her game in the early season."

Junior Adriana Nieto, an honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference pick a year ago, won her only singles match in the tournament. Nieto defeated A. Wojakowska in a thrilling three-setter. She won the first set in a tiebreak, 13-11, then was broken only once to lose the second set, 7-5. Nieto focused in and won the third set with a 6-2 score.

Hoolahan won her second round match in straight sets over Pick, 7-5, 6-0 and lost her other two matches to the Wojakowska sisters. Both first sets went to tiebreakers and she went three sets with Adriana, but dropped a straight-sets decision to Veronika.

Sophomore Jennifer Buchanan was the other Bear with a singles victory in the tournament as she won her second round bout against Lauren Mulhern, 6-2, 0-6, 6-1.

In doubles play, the tandem of Elizabeth Tapia and Jennifer Whateley won their opening round match against Pick and A. Wojakowska with one break of serve, 9-7.

"We still have a lot of room to improve, but I feel like our heads are in the right place," said Vlasak. "I feel like the team understands the true potential we have. We need to continue to focus in the weight room and at practice and get ready for this weekend's competition in Omaha."