Air Force Academy
Fresno State
Air Force women's tennis falls to defending MW champion Fresno State; defeats Metro State
3/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Air Force dropped its Mountain West opener in women's tennis to defending conference champion Fresno State, 7-0, Sunday morning at the Academy. The Falcons bounced back to defeat Metro State, 7-0, Sunday afternoon in a non-conference match.
The Bulldogs opened the match by taking a tough doubles point. Maiar Sherif-Ahmed and Rana Sherif-Ahmed defeated Tracy Landram and Natasha Rizvi, 6-3, at No. 1. The Falcons evened it with at win at No. 3 when Chloe Forlini and Jocelle Rudico defeated Tanya Murtagh and Sofya Malysheva, 7-6. Sophie Watts and Anneka Watts beat Lily Forlini and Mary Meyers, 7-5, to clinch the doubles point.
Fresno State won all six singles matches, but the Falcons forced three sets in five of them. Sophie Watts defeated Rizvi, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1 singles while Maiar Shefif-Ahmed beat Meyers, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 at No. 2. Rana Sherif-Ahmed beat Chloe Forlini, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 3 while Aishwarya Agrawal beat Landram, 7-6, 6-2 at No. 4. Anneka Watts rallied from one set down to beat Lily Forlini, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 5 while Anne Susdorf defeated Rudico, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, at No. 6.
The Falcons rallied from the morning loss to roll over Metro State. Air Force opened by winning the doubles point. Landram and Rizvi defeated Haleigh Chobanian and Kasey Love, 6-2, at No. 1. Chandler Beachy and Sierra Stapper beat Megan Bell and Kaitlyn Miller, 6-1 at No. 3. The Falcons were leading at No. 2 behind Chloe Forlini and Rudico, 5-3, over Ana-Jelena Vujosevic and Corney Wright when the match was called because the point was already secured.
The Falcons won all six singles matches in straight sets. Rizvi defeated Wright, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 1. Meyers defeated Love, 6-2, 6-0, at No. 2 while Chloe Forlini beat Chobanian, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3. Lily Forlini beat Vujosevic, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 while Rudico was a 6-2, 6-1 winner at No. 5 over Bell. Beachy rounded out the victory with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Kaitlyn Miller at No. 6.
"The team came out with great energy in the doubles against Fresno State and had an opportunity to win the doubles point, winning at no. 3 and then had a match point at no. 2. This momentum carried Fresno State throughout the remainder of the match," Air Force head coach Kim Gidley said. "In the break between the doubles, the team had a choice to make on how they would respond to the singles after having a chance to take the lead in the match. The team responded with an attitude of it's not over yet and we will fight to the end. With five of the six singles matches going three sets, we were there and just missed out on the opportunities to convert and to put more pressure on them. In the afternoon match everyone on the roster got to play and did a great job of taking care of business and getting on and off the court."
The Falcons improved to 15-5 overall while falling to 0-1 in conference play. The Falcons continue their Mountain West home stand by hosting Boise State Friday, April 3, at 12:30 p.m. and Utah State Saturday, April 4, at 10 a.m.
Women's Tennis Recap
Fresno State 7, Air Force 0
Sunday, March 29, 2015, USAFA
Singles
1 Sophie Watts (FS) def. Natasha Rizvi (AF), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
2 Maiar Sherif-Ahmed (FS) def. Mary Meyers (AF), 7-6, 4-6, 6-2
3 Rana Sherif-Ahmed (FS) def. Chloe Forlini (AF), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
4 Aishwarya Agrawal (FS) def. Tracy Landram (AF), 7-6, 6-2
5 Anneka Watts (FS) def. Lily Forlini (AF), 5-7, 6-1, 6-0
6 Anne Susdorf (FS) def. Jocelle Rudico (AF), 6-4, 5-7, 7-5
Doubles
1 Maiar Sherif-Ahmed/Rana Sherif-Ahmed (FS) def. Tracy Landram/Natasha Rizvi (AF), 6-3
2 Sophie Watts/Anneka Watts (FS) def. Lily Forlini/Mary Meyers (AF), 7-5
3 Chloe Forlini/Jocelle Rudico (AF) def. Tanya Murtagh/Sofya Malysheva (FS), 7-6
Women's Tennis Recap
Air Force 7, Metro State 0
Sunday, March 29, 2015, USAFA
Singles
1 Natasha Rizvi (AF) def. Courtney Wright (MS), 6-2, 6-2
2 Mary Meyers (AF) def. Kasey Love (MS), 6-2, 6-0
3 Chloe Forlini (AF) def. Haleigh Chobanian (MS), 6-1, 6-0
4 Lily Forlini (AF) def. Ana-Jelena Vujosevic (MS), 6-0, 6-0
5 Jocelle Rudico (AF) def. Megan Bell (MS), 6-2, 6-1
6 Chandler Beachy (AF) def. Kaitlyn Miller (MS), 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
1 Tracy Landram/Natasha Rizvi (AF) def. Haleigh Chobanian/Kasey Love (MS), 6-2
2 Chloe Forlini/Jocelle Rudico vs. Ana-Jelena Vujosevic/Cortney Wright (MS), 5-3 DNF
3 Chandler Beachy/Sierra Stapper (AF) def. Megan Bell/Kaitlyn Miller (MS), 6-1
Players Mentioned
