Thursday, September 12
USAF Academy, CO
9 a.m.
Montana State University
at
Air Force/Bedford Cup
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
Bobcats Make Strides at Bedford Cup
9/17/2019 2:08:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Montana State women’s tennis team opened its fall season playing at the Air Force Academy’s Bedford Cup over the weekend.
The Montana State women's tennis team opened its fall season playing at the Air Force Academy's Bedford Cup over the weekend. One sophomore and four newcomers participated for the Blue and Gold playing a total of ten matches, each, over the four-day tournament.
"It's a tough event," said MSU head coach Jon Reeves. "Overall, we see where the work needs to be done."
Montana State freshman Mirte Van Baelen closed out play on Sunday with a 6-2, 6-3 decision over Wyoming's Oleksandra Balaba. Van Baelen, a product of Mol, Belgium, picked up her first collegiate win with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Northern Colorado's Madison Wolfe.
"Mirte had a good singles win over Wyoming," Reeves said. "Against Northern Colorado, she settled in and played a good match to collect her first collegiate win."
Sophomore Linnea Fristam opened play in the Bravo singles bracket with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 decision over Wyoming's Clara Mansart. Fristam dropped a hard-fought 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-6(5) match to Mebeli Becerra in the second round.
"We faced some adverse conditions on the opening day and tactically we tried to play balls too close," Reeves commented. "Shot selection is one of our major areas of focus for improvement. Linnea had a good three-set win in the first round, followed by a 7-6 in a third set loss. In the second match, she came storming back from a 0-5 deficit to even up the set score at 5-5 and eventually forced a third set tiebreaker."
The Bobcat doubles tandems where sparked by the duo of Fristam and Caitlin Ward. The twosome won their opening match with an 8-4 win over Wyoming's Mansart and Mihaela Kaftanova. Fristam and Ward fell in the second round to Air Force's TJ Fumagalli and Meredith Jones.
"Fristam and Ward started off with a nice doubles victory against Wyoming," Reeves said. "They followed their first-round win with a close loss versus Air Force's top team."
Fristam and Ward collaborated on Saturday for an 8-3 win over Colorado State.
"Fristam and Ward started Saturday's doubles by applying pressure and finishing points at the net," Reeves stated. "It resulted in a nice win over Colorado State. They are building on each match and improving their play."
The Bobcats will play at the University of Wyoming Invitational Sept. 20-22.
"It's a tough event," said MSU head coach Jon Reeves. "Overall, we see where the work needs to be done."
Montana State freshman Mirte Van Baelen closed out play on Sunday with a 6-2, 6-3 decision over Wyoming's Oleksandra Balaba. Van Baelen, a product of Mol, Belgium, picked up her first collegiate win with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Northern Colorado's Madison Wolfe.
"Mirte had a good singles win over Wyoming," Reeves said. "Against Northern Colorado, she settled in and played a good match to collect her first collegiate win."
Sophomore Linnea Fristam opened play in the Bravo singles bracket with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 decision over Wyoming's Clara Mansart. Fristam dropped a hard-fought 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-6(5) match to Mebeli Becerra in the second round.
"We faced some adverse conditions on the opening day and tactically we tried to play balls too close," Reeves commented. "Shot selection is one of our major areas of focus for improvement. Linnea had a good three-set win in the first round, followed by a 7-6 in a third set loss. In the second match, she came storming back from a 0-5 deficit to even up the set score at 5-5 and eventually forced a third set tiebreaker."
The Bobcat doubles tandems where sparked by the duo of Fristam and Caitlin Ward. The twosome won their opening match with an 8-4 win over Wyoming's Mansart and Mihaela Kaftanova. Fristam and Ward fell in the second round to Air Force's TJ Fumagalli and Meredith Jones.
"Fristam and Ward started off with a nice doubles victory against Wyoming," Reeves said. "They followed their first-round win with a close loss versus Air Force's top team."
Fristam and Ward collaborated on Saturday for an 8-3 win over Colorado State.
"Fristam and Ward started Saturday's doubles by applying pressure and finishing points at the net," Reeves stated. "It resulted in a nice win over Colorado State. They are building on each match and improving their play."
The Bobcats will play at the University of Wyoming Invitational Sept. 20-22.
Players Mentioned
Wednesday, August 19
Wednesday, August 19
Wednesday, June 10
Friday, March 27
