The Colorado State women’s tennis team returned home to the CSU Tennis Complex to finish out the regular season with two matches against the University of Northern Colorado and Wyoming last weekend. After clinching their 11th win of the season against UNC, the most since 2005, the Rams fell in the Border War to the Cowgirls.

Thursday against UNC began with doubles. Priscilla Palermo and singles record holder, Alyssa Grijalva, dominated their opponents, Anna Battersby and Tristen Bryant-Otake, 6-3, at No.1. The power freshmen duo, Emma Corwin and Emily Leuthschwager, quickly defeated their competitors, Sarina Chhabra and Carrigan Blanchard, 6-2, at No.3.  This win secured the first team point for the Rams.

With doubles momentum and the win in sight, the Rams headed into singles.

Captain Emily Kolbow lead the heard of Rams battling for the first singles win. She eventually beat Madeline Doherty, 6-0, 6-4. Alyssa Grijalva followed in Kolbow’s footsteps. The sophomore bested her Bear opponent 6-1, 7-5. The Rams kept the streak alive with Emily Leutschwager. The skilled freshman was able to edge out her competitor, Anna Battersby, 6-2, 6-2, to clinch the match-winning point at No.2. To top off the day, Riley Reeves, Corwin and Palermo all battled for their own personal victories.

“We took care of business and did what we had to do,” coach Jarod Camerota said. “We got through the doubles point quickly and everyone did their part in singles. It’s great to get a win against an in-state rival.”

With the energy of Thursday’s win behind them, the Rams headed into play against Wyoming on Sunday. The Rams played the Cowgirls three days post win, but eventually dropped the match.

CSU’s strength in doubles showed as they began the day with a win by Luetschwager and Corwin against Ana Tkachenko and Myiah Scott, 6-2. Wyoming bounced back to defeat Kolbow and Reeves, leaving the fate of the opening point to Cowgirl duo Tess van Der Ploeg/ Elisa Koonik versus Grijalva/Palermo. The Ram pair led the matchup 5-4, but eventually lost in a tiebreak, 7-6 (6).

“It’s just small little things when you play a good team,” Camerota said. “Better footwork here, more discipline there, that’s the difference. You only get one or two chances when you play a good tennis team like Wyoming.”

Remaining hopeful, the Rams charged into singles play. Emma Corwin kept the energy up with her win over Myiah Scott, 6-2, 6-1. However, this was the only singles win the Rams claimed for the rest of the day.

The Cowgirls swept the rest of the matches to clinch the win.

“I’m proud of the team. Our assistant coach Erica Medlin and volunteer assistant Scott have done great work with the team. The players have put in extra work on their own too, and that is important,” Camerota said. “That’s the kind of culture we want for this program – a team that works hard and goes above and beyond. We are excited, but we still have Wyoming and the conference tournament ahead of us. We are hungry and still want more.”

With the conclusion of the regular season, the Rams will head into the Mountain West tournament in Boise, Idaho. The four-day series begins April 26.

Collegian sports reporter Michelle Gould can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @michellegouldd.