Colorado University Athletics
Orme?o Ruiz Set To Make CU History This Week
November 09, 2015 | Tennis
BOULDER, Colo. - University of Colorado junior tennis player Nuria Ormeño Ruiz will make history this week when she competes at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., from Nov. 12-15. Ormeño Ruiz will become the first singles player in school history to compete at the event after Julyette Steur and Kyra Wojcik were the first Colorado doubles pair to qualify last year.
“It's a great opportunity for everyone on the team, even though they are not coming with me,” Ormeño Ruiz said. “I think it's awesome having someone going to nationals. Last year we had Kyra and Julyette going for doubles and everyone was so excited for them.”
Ormeño Ruiz, a native of Barcelona, Spain, has a perfect 10-0 singles mark this fall, including cruising through seven matches at the Mountain Regional in October. At the regional tournament, she upset three top-10-ranked opponents in the region, including Denver's Julia O'Loughlin (ranked sixth) in a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback victory in the finals. That match was just one of three that was not won in two sets this fall.
The success against top-notch opponents is nothing new for Ormeño Ruiz, who defeated three regionally-ranked opponents last year and faced six nationally-ranked foes.
Competing at nationals this weekend will help prepare Ormeño Ruiz and the Buffaloes for the brutal Pac-12 schedule in the spring. In last season's final national rankings, four Pac-12 teams were ranked in the top 15, including No. 2 USC, No. 3 UCLA, No. 7 California and No. 11 Stanford. Of the current top-10 singles players in the country, three hail from the Pac-12, including top-ranked Carol Zhao from Stanford.
“To be able to compete in New York, it's the same caliber of competition that we see in the Pac-12,” head coach Nicole Kenneally said. “With Julyette and Kyra making it last year, it's one of those things that helps our confidence. To see them go, our players realize 'I can do it.' With Nuria winning singles, it gives them confidence against Pac-12-caliber players. We play against each other every day. We can compete with them and we can win.”
Ormeño Ruiz expects to see several Pac-12 players at nationals. “I think watching them to see how they're playing, that's going to prepare me for the season. I can go back and tell the team what I see there. I think that's really going to prepare us well.”
Success is nothing new for CU as a team, but with the Buffs being relatively new to being a national power in tennis at an individual level, Ormeño Ruiz has modest goals for the tournament. “I have no idea what I'm facing. The best players from the nation are going to be there. I'm just going to go there and compete and see what happens.”
While Ormeño Ruiz heads to New York, the rest of the team will wrap up the fall season at the San Diego State Invitational Friday through Sunday.
