Colorado
Denver
CU's Rally Falls Just Short In Loss To No. 69 DU
January 30, 2016 | Tennis
BOULDER - There are no moral victories in sports, otherwise Colorado would be coming out of Saturday's match with a win. Instead, a wild comeback fell just short as the Buffaloes lost 4-3 to No. 69 University of Denver at the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center in Boulder.
"Hats off to Denver," head coach Nicole Kenneally said. "They played a good match. Even though we played it clinch-clinch [meaning all play would be stopped once the fourth team point was won], I think [DU head coach] Christian [Thompson] and I knew it would come down to the last one."
CU trailed 3-0 and looked to be on its way to a 4-0 loss before a new-found life rallied the Buffs to a 3-3 tie with the No. 6 singles match left to decide the team's fate.
CU dropped the doubles point after Denver edged the Buffs in two close matches. The Pioneers won 6-4 at No. 3, breaking CU's serve three out of the final four serving games. At No. 1, DU rallied to win 7-5 after the Buffs led 5-3. The remaining No. 2 doubles match was tied 6-6 when the point was clinched.
Singles got off to a rough start as Denver won the first two matches to lead 3-0 overall. The Pioneers won 6-0, 6-4 at No. 3 and pulled off a wild 6-3, 6-7 (8), 6-0 win at No. 2 singles. Nuria Ormeño Ruiz faced match point several times in the second set and fought back to send her match to a deciding set, but ran out of gas in the third.
Despite the tough loss, Kenneally was very pleased with the match Ormeño Ruiz played and with what it did for the team. "Nuria didn't win, but she's kind of the one who kept us in it [as a team]. Getting that second set I think really helped momentum and keep everyone else going."
Kyra Wojcik gave the Buffaloes their first point of the match, cruising to a 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 4 singles. She only had three deuce points in the two sets and won the final 10 games between the two sets.
Meanwhile, Tina Bokhua finished up her match at No. 1 singles shortly after Wojcik, rallying for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over 62nd-ranked Julia O'Loughlin. Bokhua held serve eight out of 10 times in the final two games to keep the Buffs alive and trim DU's deficit to 3-2.
Alex Aiello then earned a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 5 singles, winning four of five deuce points she faced in the match to tie the score at 3-3.
"Kyra played a great match, just very methodical," Kenneally said. "Alex, the same thing. Everyone fought hard. For Tina to come through and win hers in three sets and pick up a nationally-ranked win is super."
The match came down to No. 6 singles and CU's Vitaliya Alkhovik and DU's Morgan Barnhill. Alkhovik was moved into the lineup after doubles when the team's No. 4 player Jeannez Daniel went down with an injury. Alkhovik got off to a tremendous start, leading 4-0 in the first set before Barnhill stormed back to win 6-4. Again in the second set, Alkhovik took an early lead, going up a break at 3-1, but again she succumbed to Barnhill 6-4 to clinch the match for the Pioneers.
Kenneally found a silver lining in her team's fight, "I think that's the sign of a good team. To be able to be down 3-0 and still be able to come back and put ourselves in a position to win was definitely a good sign. There are a lot of teams that would just walk away. We knew it was a clinch-clinch format today and we got down 3-0, but we had everyone hang in there. Those are good qualities to see."
CU will look to bounce back on Sunday with an 11 a.m. match against Boise State at the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center.
#69 Denver 4, Colorado 3
Jan 30, 2016 at Boulder, Colo. (Rocky Mountain Tennis Center)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Bokhua, Tina (COLO) def. #62 O'Loughlin,Julia (DEN) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 |
| 2. Slattery,Maureen (DEN) def. Ormeno Ruiz, Nuria (COLO) 6-3, 6-7 (8-10), 6-0 |
| 3. Mok,Bianca (DEN) def. Andrinopoulos, Annabelle (COLO) 6-0, 6-4 |
| 4. Wojcik, Kyra (COLO) def. Derbyshire,Charlotte (DEN) 6-3, 6-0 |
| 5. Aiello, Alex (COLO) def. Van Genechten,Evy (DEN) 6-2, 6-2 |
| 6. Barnhill,Morgan (DEN) def. Alkhovik, Vitaliya (COLO) 6-4, 6-4 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. O'Loughlin,Julia/Slattery,Maureen (DEN) def. Ormeno Ruiz, Nuria/Bokhua, Tina (COLO) 7-5 |
| 2. Daniel, Jeannez/Andrinopoulos, A. (COLO) vs. Barnhill,Morgan/Mok,Bianca (DEN) 6-6, unfinished |
| 3. Van Genechten,Evy/Derbyshire,Charlotte (DEN) def. Aiello, Alex/Beck, Brigitte (COLO) 6-4 |
| Match Notes |
| Denver 4-1; National ranking #69 |
| Colorado 2-2 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (3,2,4,1,5,6) |
| T-4:32 A-97 |
