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Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, February 28
Fort Collins, CO
12:30 PM
Colorado State
2
vs
5
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No. 72 North Florida
Tozin’s Game Emerging as She Grows
2/28/2026 5:26:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Rams fall to No. 72 Ospreys in home dual
FORT COLLINS – Luana Avelar looks a couple of courts over and sees the same person. The player, however, seems different.
Leyla Tozin understands the confusion. She not only sees the change, she's living it, creating it and most importantly, having fun and winning in the process.
"I think it surprises me a little bit. In the fall when we first started, I think it gradually started to get louder and louder," the freshman Tozin said. "So yeah, I mean this is normal for me now, but definitely not in the fall. Like it was, it's a bit weird."
There's a lot of change to cover for a player coming to college tennis from the junior level. It's no longer just about you; there's now a team concept. Everybody you face is pretty good, so a player has to remain on point. They need to find that happy place which allows them to perform from a foundation of confidence, which Tozin discovered in building herself up.
Fist pumps were no longer enough after big points, so she started expressing herself vocally. Those outbursts have become a bit louder – and sometimes in the third-person. She needed every one of them Saturday at the CSU Tennis Complex to outlast her opponent from North Florida in a three-set win in a match the Rams dropped 5-2 to the No. 72 Ospreys, who remain unbeaten on the season.
Tozin lost the first set 6-1 to Aryanna Bartlett, then returned the favor 6-2 to split sets. The third became a bit of a slugfest, and with Bartlett also an emotional player, the drama was amplified. Fittingly, the third set went to a tiebreak, which Tozin won 7-6 (3).
Avelar not only enjoyed the show, but the entire transformation.
"It's a lot of fun, honestly, and sometimes I even laugh because I'm like wait, where did this come from?" Avelar said. "I was not expecting it. I remember talking to Hannah (Haber) about it in the fall and I was, I think Layla's kind of quiet, like maybe we have to push her a little bit. She's gonna talk more and we've gotta show her that we're pretty chill. I don't know, because in my mind that's what it was like, maybe she's just shy because it's a completely different team, different city.
"Then like throughout the fall I saw her being more loose on the court, less tight and that happiness and that fierceness kind of started coming out. Especially now in the spring, I see almost every point and it's super amazing."
There's no disputing the results as Tozin has a 5-2 mark in the spring, 4-2 at the No. 3 slot for coach Mai-Ly Tran's team. When things aren't going well, such as in the first set, it's easy to see she's not happy, but she's not exactly berating herself on the court and throwing a tantrum.
But a good point will get her excited, get a bit loud, and as she showed in the match, get her going in the right direction. She's pretty sure deep down it has something to do with being part of a team and the group relying on your outcome.
She also knows there is more to it than that and loving the game and the competition. In this match, it was also matching the intensity on the other side of the net.
"I've always loved tennis, but I mean being able to compete at this level in college playing … I mean the girl I played today was an incredible player, and just being able to compete at this level and play my tennis is just … I love it so much," Tozin said. "It just helps me. I don't know. I think maybe sometimes when you let out a huge 'come on,' I mean, it's just part of my game now.
"That (match) was pretty interesting. In the first set, coming out, she was screaming pretty loud. I think it brings out more in me. I'm not usually this level of loud, I'd say, but when you're competing against somebody who's loud too, you kind of want to one-up them sometimes."
As for the third-person comments, why not? If you're trying to get a message across, it's best to go directly to the source.
It makes her teammates laugh. Her, too.
"Yeah, I mean sometimes you got to love yourself, right? I mean, Leyla hits a good shot," she said with a grin.
What Tozin has going for her is what Colorado State coach Mai-Ly Tran is waiting for some other spots to find.
The Rams were competitive against the Ospreys, but the tiebreaker Tozin won was the only one of four Colorado State claimed. Close matches are decided by key points, which the Rams are not claiming enough of in a current string which has seen them drop four consecutive duals.
"Hopefully, they understand that it's just going to come down to belief. Because they are completely capable of beating every single team that we faced," Tran said. "Credit to this team, who was undefeated for a reason, and they played very disciplined tennis. I liked our fight.
"I think there's critical moments in the match that they've got to play their tennis. And maybe they just kind of step back a little bit, but I do think they've responded well and they're working through things. And they're tough. We keep getting better, and the goal is to obviously get the win. We need everybody to get team wins."
As much joy as Avelar finds in watching Tozin develop, she finds pride in the way she's playing at the top of the lineup. She' won her fourth match of the season with a clinical 6-2, 6-2 sweep of Laurie Barendse, a continuation of her consistent play.
For that, she's more than grateful, especially coming off a season lost to injury.
"What I would say is that I'm proud. I'm proud because it's finally coming together," Avelar said. "I think that one of the reasons for me being consistent is because I'm enjoying it so much. Every time I go to the court, I love to fight. Being injured, it's kind of like a like a punch in the face of how quickly things can get taken away from me. Now I'm just so grateful that I'm going to the court every day and I'm fighting."
With consistency comes a confidence that at any given moment, she can reach into her bag of shots and hit the one she needs. It doesn't matter if it's one she's relied on throughout the match, or one she hasn't used often and requires in the moment.
Her final point was a prime example. She was one point away from the win when she missed on two consecutive passing shots. So she went to a lob – for just the third time – on the next.
It was perfectly placed.
"One thing that helped me with consistency is that I had a clear game plan. Each point I was kind of visualizing what I was gonna do during the point, and even though that wouldn't happen, I knew before I hit the ball what I wanted to do with that," she said. "Just having that trust in myself. I know that my instinct is telling me the right thing and I'm just gonna do it and it paid off."
After a year of frustration and watching, that's the type of play she expects to see.
Leyla Tozin understands the confusion. She not only sees the change, she's living it, creating it and most importantly, having fun and winning in the process.
"I think it surprises me a little bit. In the fall when we first started, I think it gradually started to get louder and louder," the freshman Tozin said. "So yeah, I mean this is normal for me now, but definitely not in the fall. Like it was, it's a bit weird."
There's a lot of change to cover for a player coming to college tennis from the junior level. It's no longer just about you; there's now a team concept. Everybody you face is pretty good, so a player has to remain on point. They need to find that happy place which allows them to perform from a foundation of confidence, which Tozin discovered in building herself up.
Fist pumps were no longer enough after big points, so she started expressing herself vocally. Those outbursts have become a bit louder – and sometimes in the third-person. She needed every one of them Saturday at the CSU Tennis Complex to outlast her opponent from North Florida in a three-set win in a match the Rams dropped 5-2 to the No. 72 Ospreys, who remain unbeaten on the season.
Tozin lost the first set 6-1 to Aryanna Bartlett, then returned the favor 6-2 to split sets. The third became a bit of a slugfest, and with Bartlett also an emotional player, the drama was amplified. Fittingly, the third set went to a tiebreak, which Tozin won 7-6 (3).
Avelar not only enjoyed the show, but the entire transformation.
"It's a lot of fun, honestly, and sometimes I even laugh because I'm like wait, where did this come from?" Avelar said. "I was not expecting it. I remember talking to Hannah (Haber) about it in the fall and I was, I think Layla's kind of quiet, like maybe we have to push her a little bit. She's gonna talk more and we've gotta show her that we're pretty chill. I don't know, because in my mind that's what it was like, maybe she's just shy because it's a completely different team, different city.
"Then like throughout the fall I saw her being more loose on the court, less tight and that happiness and that fierceness kind of started coming out. Especially now in the spring, I see almost every point and it's super amazing."
There's no disputing the results as Tozin has a 5-2 mark in the spring, 4-2 at the No. 3 slot for coach Mai-Ly Tran's team. When things aren't going well, such as in the first set, it's easy to see she's not happy, but she's not exactly berating herself on the court and throwing a tantrum.
But a good point will get her excited, get a bit loud, and as she showed in the match, get her going in the right direction. She's pretty sure deep down it has something to do with being part of a team and the group relying on your outcome.
She also knows there is more to it than that and loving the game and the competition. In this match, it was also matching the intensity on the other side of the net.
"I've always loved tennis, but I mean being able to compete at this level in college playing … I mean the girl I played today was an incredible player, and just being able to compete at this level and play my tennis is just … I love it so much," Tozin said. "It just helps me. I don't know. I think maybe sometimes when you let out a huge 'come on,' I mean, it's just part of my game now.
"That (match) was pretty interesting. In the first set, coming out, she was screaming pretty loud. I think it brings out more in me. I'm not usually this level of loud, I'd say, but when you're competing against somebody who's loud too, you kind of want to one-up them sometimes."
As for the third-person comments, why not? If you're trying to get a message across, it's best to go directly to the source.
It makes her teammates laugh. Her, too.
"Yeah, I mean sometimes you got to love yourself, right? I mean, Leyla hits a good shot," she said with a grin.
What Tozin has going for her is what Colorado State coach Mai-Ly Tran is waiting for some other spots to find.
The Rams were competitive against the Ospreys, but the tiebreaker Tozin won was the only one of four Colorado State claimed. Close matches are decided by key points, which the Rams are not claiming enough of in a current string which has seen them drop four consecutive duals.
"Hopefully, they understand that it's just going to come down to belief. Because they are completely capable of beating every single team that we faced," Tran said. "Credit to this team, who was undefeated for a reason, and they played very disciplined tennis. I liked our fight.
"I think there's critical moments in the match that they've got to play their tennis. And maybe they just kind of step back a little bit, but I do think they've responded well and they're working through things. And they're tough. We keep getting better, and the goal is to obviously get the win. We need everybody to get team wins."
As much joy as Avelar finds in watching Tozin develop, she finds pride in the way she's playing at the top of the lineup. She' won her fourth match of the season with a clinical 6-2, 6-2 sweep of Laurie Barendse, a continuation of her consistent play.
For that, she's more than grateful, especially coming off a season lost to injury.
"What I would say is that I'm proud. I'm proud because it's finally coming together," Avelar said. "I think that one of the reasons for me being consistent is because I'm enjoying it so much. Every time I go to the court, I love to fight. Being injured, it's kind of like a like a punch in the face of how quickly things can get taken away from me. Now I'm just so grateful that I'm going to the court every day and I'm fighting."
With consistency comes a confidence that at any given moment, she can reach into her bag of shots and hit the one she needs. It doesn't matter if it's one she's relied on throughout the match, or one she hasn't used often and requires in the moment.
Her final point was a prime example. She was one point away from the win when she missed on two consecutive passing shots. So she went to a lob – for just the third time – on the next.
It was perfectly placed.
"One thing that helped me with consistency is that I had a clear game plan. Each point I was kind of visualizing what I was gonna do during the point, and even though that wouldn't happen, I knew before I hit the ball what I wanted to do with that," she said. "Just having that trust in myself. I know that my instinct is telling me the right thing and I'm just gonna do it and it paid off."
After a year of frustration and watching, that's the type of play she expects to see.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
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#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Laurie Barendse / 0 [UNF]
22
66
#2 Singles Match
12
Isabel Oliveira / 0 [UNF]
76
62
#3 Singles Match
123
Aryana Bartlett / 0 [UNF]
626
167
#4 Singles Match
12
May Fadida / 0 [UNF]
66
03
#5 Singles Match
123
Gabby Goyins / 0 [UNF]
3710
665
#6 Singles Match
12
Jasmin Makela / 0 [UNF]
76
61
Order of Finish:
4,1,6,2,3,5
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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