Buffs Ready For Second Run At NIT Championship

BRADENTON, Fla. – Same tournament, different feel.  After a couple of days of practice at IMG Academy, the Colorado Buffaloes women's tennis team is prepped and ready for a second run at the UTR Sports NIT Championship, which begins Monday with a quarterfinal match-up against St. Mary's of California at 7 a.m. MT.

The top seed in the field, the Buffs are making a second trip to the tennis version of the NIT in as many years after being part of the field in the inaugural event last year in Atlanta. The Buffs beat Cal Poly in the quarterfinal first round and fell 4-3 to Stetson in the semifinals of that tournament.  

The Buffs are one of three teams making the return trip to the tournament, joining App State and Wyoming, who were on the other side of the bracket a year ago.  App State is joined by fourth-seeded Liberty on the Buffs side of the bracket with the winner of that match and CU's match with St. Mary's set to face off in the semifinals Tuesday.   The championship will take place Wednesday as No. 2 seed West Virginia takes on Pacific and third-seed Tulsa faces Wyoming in first round match-ups.  

CU will take place in the post season in back-to-back years for the first time since 1996-99 when the Buffs appeared in four straight NCAA Tournaments.  

The Buffs will also be looking to get back on the winning track and end the season on a high note.  After winning a school record 11 straight matches and building up an 11-0 record against non-league teams, including a perfect 9-0 record in February, CU had some bad luck at points in conference play and finished the season with a 12-10 overall record.  

Aya El Sayed leads the way for the Buffaloes picking up nine wins at No. 1 singles on the season including defeating the reigning individual NCAA singles champion.  En route to being named second-team All-Pac-12, she also teams with Pia Rebec at No. 1 doubles where the pair is ranked No. 59 in the nation and has been ranked the past four polls. 

Each of the Buffs three doubles teams have been ranked at some point this season as Ema Bubalo and Anya Nelson were ranked earlier in the season and most recently, Mila Stanojevic and Elys Ventura entered the ranking at the end of the regular season.  

Overall in doubles, CU has posted a 30-18 record in dual matches, taking the doubles point 14 times this season.  Stanojevic joined El Sayed on the All-Pac-12 team earning honorable mention honors after posing a 13-6 record in dual matches, including 10-0 against non-conference foes, throughout the season.   Betina Tokac has been solid at No. 4 singles with a 10-5 record, including 9-1 record in non-conference play, and Alexandra Abyasova has posted a 6-3 record at No. 5 singles.  

The Buffs will face St. Mary's for the first time in school history, although CU did participate in its Fall Invitational two years ago in Oct. 2021.  Stanojevic and Tokac both played in that tournament and Stanojevic faced two St. Mary's players, going 1-1.  Former Buff Antonia Balzert advanced to the A Flight Finals of that tournament.  

Of the other six teams in the field, CU has faced three of them, with Wyoming being the most common opponent.  CU owns a 9-1 record against the Cowgirls, including six straight.  Earlier this season, Wyoming took the doubles point but the Buffs rebounded to win at Nos. 1-4 singles to take a 4-1 victory.  

CU is 3-2 against Tulsa all-time, last playing on Jan. 22, 2005 at the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center, and 2-1 against Pacific, last facing them on Jan. 25, 1998 in San Deigo.  CU has never faced App State, Liberty or future Big 12 opponent West Virginia in its history.