As senior Luana Avelar faced Northern Florida, she wasn’t playing for herself; she was playing for her loved ones who had crossed oceans and continents to see her.
Still, Colorado State tennis fell to No. 72 UNF Saturday, as the Ospreys lived up to their ranked status, proving to be tough opponents. Not giving the Rams much room to breathe, UNF walked away with a 5-2 win.
“I was really happy that we got to play a team like this,” head coach Mai-Ly Tran said. “Their different style kept a lot of balls in play.”
Despite the competition, one Ram crushed it.
Avelar won her single match decidedly, winning her sets 6-2 twice in a row. While her peers found some difficulty facing the opposing school, Avelar made her match look easy with something setting her apart.
“I had extra motivation because my mom and my boyfriend are here visiting,” Avelar said. “My boyfriend came from Costa Rica, but he lives in Brazil, and my mom came from Brazil. And I think it made me really want to win. I normally want to win, but it made me really want to win.”
Having loved ones come from far away to support her gave Avelar an edge in her competition, motivating her to play her best and deliver a match worth crossing countries to see.
“Honestly, they’ll be proud of me even if I’d lost,” Avelar said. “I was just so happy that I was able to deliver good quality tennis.”
The night prior, Avelar said her boyfriend arrived at the Denver airport from Costa Rica. He is a professional tennis player and had lost in the tournament he was playing, but following the loss, he went to the airport and surprised Avelar with a visit to Colorado.
“I honestly did not have many hours of sleep because he arrived a little bit later,” Avelar said. “However, I was just so happy today, and I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, I have got to make this experience worth it’. It’s also his first time watching a college tennis match.”
She entered the match with odds stacked against her, a tough opponent and lack of rest were both weighing on her, but her positive mindset won. Having her motivations in mind, she swept her match.
Avelar’s performance Saturday was a prime example of the power of motive, putting in her all to deliver the best match she possibly could.
A couple courts away, a close back and forth between first-year Leyla Tozin and her opponent ensued, leaving spectators glued to the edges of their seats.
After losing the first set 6-1, Tozin then proved she wouldn’t give up without a fight.
“The girl I played was extremely tough; I was just making sure to fight till the end,” Tozin said. “Obviously, I got rolled the first set 1-6, so coming back, I was just resetting for the second set.”
She won her second set 6-2, showing how her loss in the previous set wasn’t a trend in the match.
“Coming into the third set, coach Hanna (Grow-Morales Escobedo) told me, ‘Be ready, this girl’s going to come back fired up, ready to play,’” Tozin said. “So, I kind of used that. I went into the third prepared to play every point, and I knew she wasn’t going to let up. And yeah, it went down to the wire.”
The third set was a nail biter. It was a furious back and forth which ended up going into overtime. This time around, Tozin ended on her terms and won in overtime 7-3.
“I love tennis; I truly do love the sport,” Tozin said. “Just having the opportunity to play my best tennis is huge for me, and that’s what drives me.”
The dual with UNF proved that motive is the strongest tool an athlete can have. Having a reason to push for great things is what makes room for greatness to happen despite losing overall.
The Rams look to take the lessons they learned from a tough opponent to inspire them into the rest of the season.
Reach Mason Ford at sports@collegian.com or on social media @mason_ford2891.
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