Ormeño Ruiz Poised To Lead Buffs In Her Senior Year

BOULDER — Ask Nuria Ormeño Ruiz what it means to play tennis for the University of Colorado, and a big grin immediately spreads across her face.

"Pride," she says almost immediately. "When you see the CU T-shirts everywhere, the signs, the flags, it's pride. I play for that university. I'm representing that university. The man sitting next to us eating breakfast at the restaurant also has a Buffs shirt and we have that connection. I'm making people proud because I represent the school they like. It's a great feeling."

It's also a feeling that was foreign to Ormeño Ruiz as she was growing up in her native Spain.

What most Americans don't realize is that the university-athletics connection that is virtually sewn into the fabric of American culture is also unique to the United States. Simply, the United States is one of the few countries in the world where the two exist together.

In fact, the U.S. is one of the few countries in the world that has what we know as the "college experience."

"In Spain, you go to a university two blocks from your house and it's basically a building," Ormeño Ruiz said. "You go to classes and get your degree, but there's not a tennis team, not a beautiful campus, not a football team. We don't have dorms, we don't have dining halls, things like that. It's hard to explain, but this college experience that everyone has the chance to have here, you don't get in Spain. It's just not the same."

Thus, when the opportunity arose for Ormeño Ruiz to continue her tennis career while also pursuing a college degree, she jumped at the chance. As one of the highest-ranked young players in Spain, she had a wide variety of choices. The only question was where she would go.

"It's kind of crazy, because at first, I wanted to go to one of the coasts, California or Florida," she said. "I wanted to go to a place where I could go to the beach every day."

But a friend then told her about a university in Boulder — a place she freely admits she'd never heard of. She talked with a CU assistant coach, who "made it sound like it was incredible."

She then set up a recruiting visit, still thinking she would end up somewhere elese.

"I came for my visit on the Fourth of July and fell in love with it," Ormeño Ruiz said. "It was even more amazing than I thought it could be. I knew right away it's where I wanted to be."

It is where she has been since, and where she has left a mark as one of the most successful tennis players in CU history.

Entering her senior year, Ormeño Ruiz ranks 25th on CU's all-time list of singles victories (61), 16th in singles winning percentage (.629) and 31st in combined singles and doubles wins (100). She also owns seven match-clinching singles wins, eight doubles point-clinching wins and her 12 career Pac-12 singles wins are the most in CU history. If she stays healthy and has the type of season coach Nicole Kenneally expects, she will likely move into the top 10 for all-time wins.

After playing in the No. 4 and No. 3 spots her first two years with the Buffs, Ormeño Ruiz moved into the No. 1 singles spot for CU last season, where she immediately had an impact.

"Tennis is an individual sport, but when you play in college, you also get to play for the team, and it's something that's very valuable," she said. "Last year, we had a great team and we all had each other's back. Even though playing No. 1 is pressure, my teammates always supported me. I think playing as a team is something all tennis players should do so they have that experience. It's the experience of having a family. I'm an only child, but I tell people I get six new sisters every year."

One of those experiences that Ormeño Ruiz won't forget came last spring, when the Buffs were playing in Oregon. Matched against the 41st-ranked Ducks, the Buffs came away with their first-ever road win in Pac-12 play — and it was Ormeño Ruiz's three-set win over Nia Rose at No. 1 singles that clinched the victory.

"What's funny is I don't remember the point that won it," she laughed. "I just remember it was a really, really tight match and I wasn't nervous. My teammates were looking on from the other court and they just kept saying, 'You can do this.'

"All I remember is after the last point, my teammates were running to me and everyone was hugging. We were so excited that we did it goether. It wasn't just my match, it was that everyone did something for that moment to happen. That's what was so amazing — it was just this great moment for our team and everybody was part of it."

Ormeño Ruiz has had plenty of other memorable moments. Last fall, she became the first Buff ever to win a singles regional championship and compete at the National Indoor Championships. She won her first 10 singles matches of the fall, a streak that included six consecutive wins at the ITA Mountain Region Championships and three victories over regionally ranked players.

Now, she's aiming for a successful senior season, one in which she believes the Buffs should be ready to take the next step in moving up the Pac-12 ladder.

"I think we're going to have a strong team," she said. "We have two new players and our confidence is good. I think we'll have that competitive mindset and it should be a good season for the team."

Since arriving as an admittedly nervous — and slightly afraid — young freshman, Ormeño Ruiz has grown into a confident, expressive senior who plans to graduate next spring with a degree in communications.

"When I got here, I was shy and kind of scared to talk," she laughed. "The language barrier was difficuilt. I was always afraid I might say the wrong thing. But my teammates and my coaches were great and I learned to get over being scared. Now people don't believe I could have been shy. It's just another thing that Colorado has helped me with."

Upon graduation, the one thing Ormeño Ruiz will be sure to take with her — wherever she goes — is a supply of Buffs gear.

"People in America are used to growing up and having that connection," she said. "When you are little, you grow up and you are a Buff fan. You grow up with it and you want to go to college and CU and you want to be a part of it. That's something now that I will always be connected to and always remember. That's been very special and very important to me."

Ormeño Ruiz and the Buffs will open the 2016-17 season on Thursday in the first day of the four-day CU Invitational. Ormeño Ruiz will be the tournament's top seed, which features opposing players from Georgetown, Arkansas, Colorado State and New Mexico. First serve on Thursday will take place at 3:30 p.m. with a 9 a.m. start set for Friday. All matches will be played at CU's South Campus Tennis Complex. Complete draws and notes are attached above.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu