Senior weekend ends in two ranked losses for Colorado tennis
- Colby Wyatt
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Big 12 proved too much for the Colorado Buffaloes tennis team, as losses to No. 34 Baylor and No. 20 TCU capped a 10-game losing streak to end the regular season.
The Baylor match on April 9 was a perfect representation of how the season has gone for the No. 66 Buffs. After a brief rain delay, things started cold for CU as it dropped doubles play. Lani Brotman and Aya El Sayed fell 6-2 at the No. 2 spot, while the No. 1 duo Lera Alexin and Rixt van der Werff could only hold on for so long before falling 6-3, putting the Bears up 1-0.
El Sayed was removed from the lineup, moving the whole roster up a spot. Now at the No. 4 spot, Alexin’s opponent, Alian Zack, found success jamming Alexin up in the middle of the court for a 6-0, 6-1 win.
Freshman Heidi Crncan faced a hard-hitting opponent in Luna Ivkovic, but Crncan’s defense held firm as she captured the only win for the Buffs, 6-0, 6-1, at the No. 6 spot.
Ema Bubalo faced the No. 114-ranked singles player, Zuzanna Kubacha. Bubalo found her groove during a four-game win streak in the second set, but it wasn’t enough. Kubacha responded by winning two straight and ending the match 6-3, 6-4.
Van der Werff had her work cut out for her with the No. 61-ranked player, Na Dong. Despite her best efforts, the shots weren’t falling for Van der Werff, and her 6-4, 6-4 loss was also the nail in the coffin as Baylor reached the four points needed to secure the dual match win.
At the No. 3 match, Brotman’s serves were hitting their spots as she was one game away from winning a two-set thriller; she led 7-5, 6-5. Anya Nelson’s No. 5 singles match was the only match to go into the third set, as a break gave her the momentum she needed to win the second. Her unfinished score was 1-6, 6-4, 1-2.
Before April 11’s match against TCU, Colorado honored its seniors, Van der Werff and Nelson, but the rest of the day wasn’t as pleasant. The Horned Frogs earned a clean 4-0 sweep.
Alexin and Van der Werff started things off on a high note with a 6-0 doubles win, but Brotman, El Sayed, Bubalo and Nelson dropped their sets, giving TCU the doubles point.
El Sayed had a tough return to the singles lineup, losing 6-4, 6-0 to No. 83 Chica Caballero at the No. 1 singles spot. Not long after, Crncan folded in her No. 6 match, losing 6-2, 6-1.
Brotman held Victoria Gomez O’Hayton off for as long as she could at the No. 4 match, extending the second set, but she was the final blow for CU, losing 6-3, 7-5.
"I feel for our seniors who dealt with the adversity thrown at them," Pham said. "They never gave up, and as coaches, we're very proud of them.”
With the dual match clinched, the No. 2, 3 and 5 matches were left unfinished. Van der Werff was down 7-5, 2-1. Bubalo was the only Buff to win a set, 6-3, but she was down in the second, 5-4. Alexin lost in a tiebreaker in the first set and was locked at 3-3 in the second set.
Overall, Colorado finished its season 10-13 and 2-11 in conference play. Only 10 teams qualify for the Big 12 championship, leaving CU out of the fray. Ending the season ranked No. 75 has put CU outside any chance at being one of the 64 teams selected for the NCAA Championship in May.
"We fought to the very end, and I'm grateful I was able to just have a good day of smiling and having a good time with my teammates," Nelson said. "I would relive this day over and over again.”