The Colorado Buffaloes women’s tennis team lost to No. 53 BYU, 4-2, at the Boulder Meadows Club on March 19. The match was closely contested, with Colorado initially taking the lead by winning the doubles point before BYU secured victory in singles play.
This result is significant as it affects both teams’ standings in the Big 12 Conference. Colorado now has a record of 10-6 overall and 2-4 in conference play, while BYU improves to 14-4 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12.
Head coach Anthony Pham said, “It was a close, tough match. I’ve said it before, our group is resilient, we got dealt a tricky hand today. It was warm, and the conditions definitely affected us, but there were two teams out there. In the end, we just came up a little short.” Pham also praised freshman Yukiko Ikedo for her performance: “Yuki got thrown into doubles and helped decide that point, so I was proud of her for that.” Ikedo partnered with Aya El Sayed at No. 2 doubles for her first career Big 12 match and win.
In singles play, Rixt van der Werff earned her tenth career dual victory with a straight-set win at No. 2 singles. Pham commented on her effort: “Rixt, she was playing a good player. She did a good job today, was in control on her side of the court, I don’t think she’d say she played her best match, but she managed it well and I’m proud of her.” Lera Alexin also mounted a comeback attempt at No. 4 singles after being down four games in the second set but ultimately lost; Pham said: “Credit to Lera, she was down 4-0, brought it back to 5-4, her opponent played some good points. She worked her way back into the match.”
The Buffs started strong by winning two out of three doubles matches—Bubalo/Nelson came from behind to win at No. 3 doubles while El Sayed/Ikedo clinched their debut as partners at No. 2 doubles.
Looking ahead, Colorado will continue its home stand against No. 44 Utah on Saturday at the Meadows Club with play scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
Pham concluded: “Our expectation is we won’t give up. We fought hard, I’m not disappointed from that standpoint, we just didn’t get it done.”
