Colorado tennis falls back but looks to spring forward in 2026

Zero Colorado Buffaloes tennis players qualified for the NCAA Tournament, but senior Rixt van der Weff emerged as a standout in doubles play. (Photo by Kekoa Brown/Sko Buffs Sports)

The NCAA women’s tennis National Championships are officially underway, and with no Colorado Buffaloes being invited, their fall season has officially run its course. While head coach Anthony Pham never found a lineup for doubles play that satisfied, one veteran duo and the team’s freshmen have already proved themselves to be valuable additions.

Senior Rixt van der Werff and sophomore Lera Alexin quickly separated themselves as the best doubles team for the Buffs. The two qualified for the ITA Conference Masters Championship, and despite a day-one loss, they bounced back to win the consolation bracket.

Alexin and der Werff were the only consistent pairing. Every week of competition saw the other doubles teams being mixed. Freshmen Lani Brotman and Yukiko Ikedo are a great example, as the pair won the Bedford Cup at Air Force Academy in September and went 5-3 on the season.

Brotman ended the season playing with Pia Rebec, becoming the most successful CU duo at the Bonita Bay Classic.

Last fall, Anya Nelson and Ema Bubalo represented the Buffs at the NCAA Championships, but this year, their stories reflected the team’s uncertainty in the doubles arena. Nelson played with three different teammates in competitions and only won half of her matches when paired with Bubalo.

Overall, the team won 55% of doubles matches, but it will have to get better to stay above .500, as the spring season will bring along conference play and tougher competition.

More success should come with a more consistent lineup, and Pham has until the end of January to figure out how to put his team together. He will need to use all of his time, as configuring the singles lineup will be a challenge.

A majority of the fall season is tournament/travel play, while the spring is dominated by duals. In a dual, there are only six singles spots per team, but the Buffs have nine. While each player will have to earn their spot in practice this winter, the results of the fall season show two players as the likely No. 1 singles players for CU.

Rebec occupied the No. 4 singles spot for the majority of the 2025 spring season and was 10-3 this fall. Nelson also went 10-3 but was off and on the bottom of the singles lineup last spring.

Those two will be competing for the team’s top spot with Bubalo, who handled the No. 3 singles slot for most of last year. While she went 6-5 this fall, she still holds the most experience at the top of the lineup.

Outside of those three, Brotman should be a lock to start for the Buffs. She went 7-4 when traveling with the team, won the gold at the National Sports Festival in South Korea in October and even beat some of her teammates for first place at the Bedford Cup.

Fellow freshman Heidi Crncan is the last CU player to have a winning record this season, going 8-5. She and Alexin, who went 5-5, will likely round out the singles roster.

While it’s currently hard to predict who will be playing with whom when games kick back up again at the end of January, promising freshmen, a consistent lineup and two months of practice should see CU ranked in the top 100 with a chance to compete in the competitive Big 12.

The Buffs get to practice until they host Montana State on Jan. 23.