FORT COLLINS, Colo. – South Dakota women's tennis had a strong final day during the three-day Colorado State Fall Invite held Friday through Sunday held at the CSU Tennis Complex.
 
Bea Havlickova, a sophomore, posted a 2-1 mark in Flight A Singles, earning a win over a Pac 12 foe as well as defeating a Summit League nemesis from Denver.
 
Sydney Weinberg, a senior, also earned a win over a Pac 12 for during her singles play over the three days.
 
"This tournament was a big challenge for the team," coach Brett Barnett said. "Every team out here was really good and we knew playing at high altitude would be a challenge. 
 
"We played better and better as the tournament went on. We struggled a little adjusting to the conditions and closing out sets and matches early on."
 
Havlickova closed the event with a big win on Sunday over Britt Pursell of Denver, who had beaten her in the Summit League finals in April. Havlickova prevailed 10-8 in the third set. She opened the event on Friday with a win over Colorado's Carri Hayes, 6-1, 6-1.
 
Sonia Skobkareva and Paige Alter joined Havlickova as first-round winners in the bracketed event, however, each would suffer losses in the second round.
 
Skobkareva, a sophomore, posted a three-set win over Kenadee Semenik of Weber State in Flight B singles while Alter, a senior, earned a straight-sets win over Utah State's Sidnee Lavatai in Flight C singles.
 
Weinberg closed her tourney with a straight sets win over Colorado's Ellen Puzak, 6-2, 6-4.
 
"We had our best energy of the event on day three and the team played so well all day," said Barnett. "They did a great job sweeping doubles and going 5-2 in singles. It was nice going 2-0 against Colorado over the weekend and Bea had a huge win over Denver."
 
Estella Jaeger, Grace Chadick and Maya Arksey all won singles matches on the final day of the event.
 
Jaeger, a senior, posted a three-set win over Weber State's Li Yang, 10-1 in the tiebreak set in Flight A while Chadick, a sophomore, earned a straight-set victory over Utah State's Indya Nespor in Flight B. Meanwhile, in Flight C, Arksey, a sophomore, defeated Utah State's Jade Brilhante in straight sets.
 
Three of the four Coyote doubles teams earned victories on Sunday as doubles play was wiped out on Saturday due to rain.
 
Jaeger and Havlickova defeated New Mexico's O'Connor/Hoppe, 6-4 while Skobkareva and Alter posted a 6-4 win over a Wyoming duo in Flight A. Chadick and Weinberg also posted a 6-4 win in Flight B doubles on Sunday.
 
"Grace and Maya played confidently, and both beat Utah State in straights and Estella fought well and had a nice win over Weber State," Barnett said. "We're progressing really nice as a team and this experience will do nothing but help us out in April when we play in Denver. 
 
"It'll be nice to have a weekend off of competition to rest up and we'll get ready to finish the fall at ITA Regionals."
 
The Coyotes will close the fall portion of their schedule at the ITA Regionals in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The event, hosted by Oklahoma State, begins on Thursday, Oct. 13 and runs through Monday, Oct. 17.