BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes Tennis team returns to the courts for their fall tour which includes six tournaments all across the country, starting in California on September 21 with the Battle of the Bay and the San Diego UTSA Intercollegiate Classic.
After a season of many “first since” for the Buffs starting with winning 13 dual matches which was more than any season in the last 16 years, dating back to a 16-8 record in the 2006-07 season. The success in the regular season gave way for the first postseason appearance since 2007 and postseason win since 1998.
To name a few of the other milestones that were accomplished last season, the Buffs defeated No. 16 Washington for only the second win against a team ranked No.16 or higher in the last 16 years. Antonia Balzert became only the third Buff to be named Pac-12 player of the week and the first since 2019. All of the accomplishments led to the first Pac-12 tournament win in school history with a 4-2 upset win over Oregon in the first round.
As Colorado looks to move forward towards the 2023 fall tour the Buffs return seven of the eight players from last year’s team led by All-Pac-12 honorable mentions Aya El Sayed and Betina Tokac. El Sayed primarily played at No. 4 singles, posting a 14-2 dual match record for the season, the second-best winning percentage in CU history in dual matches. She won 12 straight matches, going undefeated in February, March and April and was a perfect 5-0 in Pac-12 matches. Tokac won 14 singles and 12 doubles matches for the Buffaloes, playing predominantly at No. 5 singles and No. 3 doubles with Ellie Puzak.
The returners don’t stop with El Sayed and Tokac, the Buffs bring back 81% of the singles wins and 68% of the doubles win from a season ago. Returners include sophomore Carri Hayes, fifth year senior Ellen Puzak, junior Mila Stanojevic, and fifth year senior Elys Ventura.
Even with seven returners head coach Anthony Pham is excited to welcome three talented freshmen to the team: Ema Bubalo, Willow Gretch, and Pia Rebec. “The first couple weeks of practice has been great, they’ve worked hard and they are fitting in well,” Pham commented on the freshman. “The upperclassmen are really doing a good job of getting them on board with practice standards and how we conduct things on and off the court, culturally they’re a great fit….
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