By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
PUEBLO, Colo. – Fort Hays State Tennis dropped its first two matches of the season on Saturday (Sept. 18). The Tigers fell to MSU Denver and Colorado Mesa, both by scores of 6-1. The Tigers are now 2-2 overall on the season.
The only points generated on the day for FHSU came from Stefany Stemmer, who battled out wins at the No. 1 singles position in both matchups. Against Isabel Heras of MSU Denver she won the first set 6-4 and dropped the second 1-6, but bounced back for a 10-7 win in the tiebreaking set. Against Issy Coman of Colorado Mesa, she needed a tiebreaking set once again to claim victory. She started with a 6-2 win, but then fell 6-7 in the second before winning the decisive set 10-8.
All other singles matches on the day went to the opponents in straight sets. MSU Denver claimed all three doubles matches. Stemmer and Maria Paz Diaz were potentially on their way to a doubles win against Colorado Mesa, but since CMU won the No. 2 and No. 3 matches to gain the doubles team point, Stemmer and Diaz led 5-3 when their match went unfinished.
The Tigers are back at home on Tuesday (Sept. 21) when they play host to Bethel College at the FHSU Tennis Courts. First serve is set for 3 pm.
Friday
Fort Hays State Tennis moved to 2-0 on the season with a 6-1 win over CSU-Pueblo on Friday evening (Sept. 17). With the win, Fort Hays State Head Coach Brian Flax reached 200 career wins at FHSU. The Tigers picked up the doubles point by winning two of three contests, then took five of the six singles matches contested.
After the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams split their action, the doubles team point came down to the No. 3 teams battling it out. The Tigers’ No. 3 pair of Aliyah Frederick and Hope Lubbers came through for the team, earning the Tigers a point with a hard-fought 7-5 win. The No. 2 team of Fiorella Mendez and Heidi Lubbers cruised to a 6-1 win, but the No. 1 team of Stefany Stemmer and Maria Paz Diaz fell 6-4.
In singles action, four of the five Tiger wins came in straight sets. Stemmer rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 win at the No. 1 position. Mendez blanked her opponent at No. 2, 6-0, 6-0. Diaz also cruised 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3. Stemmer provided the clinching point for the team as the Tigers were up 4-0 in the team score. Heidi Lubbers breezed through the first set 6-1 and held on for a 6-4 win in the second set at No. 5 to push the Tiger lead to 5-0. CSU-Pueblo grabbed its only point at the No. 4 position as Frederick fell 1-6, 6-0, 10-5 to Alyssa Wells. Gracen Friess tacked on one more point for the Tigers for good measure by taking the No. 6 match in the tiebreak set, 6-4, 2-6, 10-6.