Colorado tennis suffers first loss of season

Rixt van der Werff scored the clinching win last Friday to help Colorado Buffaloes tennis defeat Miami of Ohio. (Photo by Kekoa Brown/Sko Buffs Sports)

This past weekend, the Colorado Buffaloes tennis team hosted Miami of Ohio, winning 6-1, before traveling to take on the University of Denver. CU would get outplayed in their singles matchups and lose 4-2.

On Friday, Aya El Sayad made her return as a Buffalo and partnered up with Pia Rebec for the No. 2 doubles match. The two quickly won 6-1 in their first match together since February 2025. 

Anya Nelson and Ema Bubalo followed it up by winning 6-2, which was also their 34th win as a duo. The number puts them fifth on CU’s all-time doubles win list.

In singles play, Rebec was the first to record a win, beating her No. 3 singles opponent 6-2, 6-1. Lera Alexin also won in straight sets, capturing the No. 4 singles win 7-5, 6-2.

Rixt van der Werff was taken to three sets in the No. 1 match but was able to see it through for the win. Her victory was the fourth point CU needed to achieve the team win over the Redhawks.

Bubalo was the only Buff to lose. She forced a third set in her No. 2 singles match but ultimately lost 4-6, 6-0, 6-4. 

No. 5 singles player Lani Brotman lost the first set 7-6 (5), but she found her groove, winning the next two sets 6-0, 6-3. Nelson rounded out the day by winning the No. 6 match 7-5, 6-3.

This dual capped off the Buffs’ home stretch, where they went 3-0. But on Sunday, Colorado’s three-game win streak would come to an end at the hands of the Pioneers.

The doubles matches were a battle. Denver claimed the No. 1 match 6-2. The other two CU duos won their matches, with El Sayad and Rebec winning 6-2. Then Alexin and Werff narrowly won the No. 3 doubles match 7-5.

Things went downhill in singles play. In her return to the singles lineup, El Sayad had a tough matchup, losing 6-2, 6-4 to the nation’s No. 77-ranked player, Louise Wikander, at the No. 1 singles slot.

Bubalo got the team’s only singles win at the No. 3 spot, winning 6-4, 6-4. DU turned the tide, winning the No. 4 and No. 5 matches over Rebec and Alexin. 

With DU leading over CU 3-2, the duel came down to Brotman at the No. 6 and Werff at the No. 2 spots. Brotman won the first set in a tiebreaker but dropped the next two, giving DU the win. 

"These matches, you hate to drop them, but early in the year, we must learn and grow from it. Denver is a good team. We knew it was going to be a battle,” head coach Anthony Pham said. “It's just handling those tight moments a bit better and making sure we're not the first ones to blink."

Now 3-1 on the season, CU will be back in action next weekend. The Buffaloes travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for a three-match weekend, starting with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Feb 13.