University of Northern Colorado Athletics
University of Northern Colorado
Montana State
Recap: @UNCO_WTennis Fights Hard, Falls to Montana State
4/15/2018 4:37:00 PM | Women's Tennis
BOZEMAN, Mont.- The UNC Women's tennis team played their final road match of the season today versus conference foe, Montana State. Despite a 5-2 loss, the match was competitive at every position -doubles and singles and Coach Brenda Gallegos echoed the feeling after the match.
"We've been building up to this moment all season. Better late than never because everyone showed up today. The team exemplified their true passion as competitors by not giving up, fighting hard, and were left exhausted from leaving everything on the court today."
Sarina Chhabra was a winner in singles at No. 4 and Mana Koitabashi also won her match at No. 5 for UNC. Montana State won the team doubles point by taking No. 1 and No. 2. Sarina Chhabra and Carrigan Blanchard were ahead 5-2 in their doubles match at No. 3 when the team doubles point was decided.
"I'm very proud of our team's performance today," said Bears assistant coach Marissa Baca. "I knew they had it in them. The environment was incredible today and even though some matches did not go our way, everyone made it a dog fight until the very end."
The Bears (5-13, 1-9 Big Sky) play Air Force in their next match on April 18 at 2:30 p.m. in Greeley. Montana State (7-14, 4-7 Big Sky) finished their regular season schedule with the match Sunday against Northern Colorado.
COURT BY COURT BREAKDOWN:
No. 3 Doubles:
Fr. Sarina Chhabra and Fr. Carrigan Blanchard proved to be a good pair. They took an early lead and held on the rest of the way. The duo was up 5-2, 15-15 before the match had to be cut short. Throughout the set, both Chhabra and Blanchard were playing smart tennis, working together as a team, and being aggressive.
No. 1 Singles:
Soph. Raffa Mora put up a tough fight against MSU's number one player, Laura Mary. Mora's opponent tested her patience and willingness to work through every point - which she did. Although she did not get the win, Mora worked on her game and played a great match, engaging in long rallies and waiting for the right time to pull the trigger, which was key.
No. 3 Singles:
Madeline Doherty's three set match was some of her better tennis this season. In the first set, Doherty struggled a bit and lost it 3-6. However, going in to the second set she had a fresh outlook and made great adjustments to tie the match at one set all. Doherty played smart tennis by mixing up her shots, hitting some slices, high deep balls, and even gaining confidence at the net with a drop shot volley winner. The third set did not go her way, but she fought until the very end and barely lost it 4-6.
No. 5 Singles:
Mana Koitabashi had a convincing win against MSU's Sarah Cheverie. She took care of business in the first set, taking it 6-3, by finding a weakness in her opponents backhand. Koitabashi did not stray from her strategy of targeting her opponent's backhand. Though she went down 1-3 in the second set, she gathered herself and came back to win five games straight and the match.
Scores-
Doubles
1 - (MSU) Mary/Vink def. (UNC) Bryant-Otake/Battersby 6-2
2 - (MSU) Philippova/Walker def. (UNC) Mora/Doherty 6-1
3 - (UNC) Blanchard/Chhabra vs. (MSU) Zander/Cheverie 5-2 unf.
Singles
1 - (MSU) Laura Mary def. (UNC) Raffa Mora 6-2, 6-0
2 - (MSU) Angelina Philippova def. (UNC) Tristen Bryant-Otake 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
3 - (MSU) Annie Walker def. (UNC) Madeline Doherty 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-4
4 - (UNC) Sarina Chhabra def. (MSU) Linda Vink 6-4, 7-5
5 - (UNC) Mana Koitabashi def. (MSU) Sarah Cheverie 6-3, 6-3
6 - (MSU) Enni Zander def. (UNC) Carrigan Blanchard 6-1, 6-2
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
1,4,2,5,3,6
Players Mentioned
