SPOKANE, Wash. — Eastern Washington women's tennis played the first of two neutral matches this weekend, starting against Colorado State in Spokane. The Rams defeated the Eagles, 4-2, clinching the win in the second-to-last singles match.

"It was a great battle today, which is what I really wanted. We want to kind of face these kinds of opponents because they are similar to what we face in the Big Sky. They were tough matches in doubles and all the way through singles," head coach Dustin Hinson explained. "The main element I was happy with today is that we fought from start to finish; from everybody on each court. I'm really sure that we believed in our abilities. We've been working really hard in our training. I think our level is really stepping up and I'm excited to take it to the next one."

The doubles round started fast with Leandra Nizetic and Maria Lopez cruising to a 6-1 win at No. 3 over the Rams' Dylan Voeks and Anni Amalnathan. Anait Arutiunian and Sara Vasic fell at No. 2, 6-2 and the point came down to the No. 1 match.

"We got a win at No. 3 and lost to No. 2 doubles, and then it came down to the tiebreaker at No. 1," Hinson said. "We ended up losing but [Pradel & Marais] played really well to come back from 3-5 down.

At No. 1, Zoe Pradel and Olivia Marais faced Sorcha Caves and Luana Avelar. The match was back-and-forth, going to tie breaker. Caves and Avelar earned a convincing 7-2 win in the tie breaker to take the match and the doubles point. CSU led 1-0.

"In singles, up and down were good matches for us. Getting a win at No. 2 from Leandra Nizetic was awesome. She played amazing from start to finish and dominated that match, even though it was a really tough opponent. I thought Annalise [Zamfirescu] really kind of dominated from start to finish. She's really picking up her game as a freshman and playing really well so I was happy with her effort."

After dropping No. 3 singles, Eastern rallied with two singles wins at No. 2 and No. 6. Nizetc picked up her second match win of the day, defeating Caves 6-3, 6-2. Aneliss Zamfirescu was in control against Anni Amalnathan, winning 6-1 and 6-2. The score was tied at two with three single matches to go.

The Rams clamped down, winning at No. 5, 6-3, 6-4 to go up 3-2. They clinched the match with a 7-5, 7-6(7-2) win at No. 4. Pradel battled Dylan Voeks at No. 4, but came up short in the tie breaker. 

"We want to face these kinds of battles and feel that kind of pressure so we can learn from it," Hinson added. "The pressure prepares us for the next match. We'll take that same mindset into tomorrow's match against Fresno State."

Results
Singles
No. 1 Anait Arutiunian (EWU) vs. Luana Avelar (CSU) 6-4, 4-6 unfinished
No. 2 Leandra Nizetic (EWU) def. Sorcha Caves (CSU) 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 Leyla Tozin (CSU) def. Veronika Gayevyk (EWU) 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 Dylan Voeks (CSU) def. Zoe Pradel (EWU) 7-5, 7-6(7-3)
No. 5 Diana Lizarazo (CSU) def. Olivia Marais (EWU) 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 Aneliss Zamfirescu (EWU) def. Anni Amalnathan (CSU) 6-1, 6-2 

Doubles
No. 1 Sorcha Caves / Luana Avelar (CSU) def Olivia Marais / Zoe Pradel (EWU) 7-6 (7-2)
No. 2 Hanna Haber / Leyla Tozin (CSU) def. Anait Arutiunian / Sara Vasic (EWU) 6-2
No. 3 Maria Lopez / Leandra Nizetic (EWU) def. Dylan Voeks / Anni Amalnathan (CSU) 6-1

Up Next
Eastern Washington travels to Pullman tomorrow (Jan. 31) to play Fresno State at 1 p.m.
 

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