Cowgirl Tennis Welcomes CSU In Home Finale

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Photo credit to Ted Brummond UW Photo Service

LARAMIE, Wyo. (April 18, 2019) – Wyoming tennis will close out Mountain West regular season action on Saturday against the Colorado State Rams. The match is set for 12 p.m. MT at the UW Indoor Tennis Courts. It will be the final home match for seniors Elisa Koonik and Tessa van Der Ploeg.

“The team is excited to play the final home match of the season in one of the toughest places to play in the country,” head coach Dean Clower said. ‘This is a special day for our two seniors and they want to go out on a high note.”

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The Cowgirls enter the weekend with a 13-6 record overall and a 3-1 mark in league play. Last time out, they earned a 4-2 victory over the Boise State Broncos. Koonik is 12-5 this spring and 15-13 overall in singles action, while freshman Maria Oreshkina has a 13-5 mark in dual play and is 19-10 overall. Junior Ana Royo has an 18-12 record followed by freshman Mihaela Kaftanova sitting at 15-11 and 8-3 this spring. van Der Ploeg has a 9-8 dual mark and 15-15 overall followed by freshman Ana Fernandez who is 11-14 overall on the year. Kaftanova and fellow freshman Ida Krause are 12-7 overall in doubles action.

Koonik is a four-year starter plus an All-Conference selection in doubles twice and singles once. She has a career record of 68-48 in singles play and 65-53 in doubles action, which are both tied for seventh all-time in school history. She has won nine of her last 11 matches and had a seven-match winning streak during the season. She was selected the MW Player of the Week for the first time in her career in 2019. van Der Ploeg is also a four-year starter and two-time All-Conference selection in doubles play. She has an overall career record of 62-55 in singles, which ranks 14th, and a 63-52 mark in doubles, which is tied for seventh all-time in school history. She has won the last six out of her last nine matches while being selected Mountain West Player of the Week twice during her career.

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“I can’t say enough for what these two seniors have meant to this program, the university and myself,” he added. “The past four years, the two have shown up every day willing to work, improve and the results show. Tessa and Elisa have cared more about the team and teammates all year and have brought Cowgirl tennis to an all-time high. Our program and myself owe them for their sacrifice over the last four years and especially the way they turned the culture back to where it needs to be.”

Colorado State is 8-9 overall and 1-4 in MW play. They will play Northern Colorado on Thursday prior to the Cowgirls. This will be the 28th meeting between the two schools. CSU holds a slim 14-13 lead in the series. The last time the two met was April 22, 2018, with the Cowgirls coming out on top 5-1 in Ft. Collins. The Rams are coached by Jared Camerota who is in his third season with the program.

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