Tennis Team Shows Strong Growth In Shortened Season

BOULDER – The 2020 dual season saw an abrupt end for the Colorado women's tennis team, but in the shortened season the squad showed resolve and strength in a young, growing team under second-year head coach Danielle Steinberg.

"Despite our year being cut short I believe we made big strides toward becoming the program we are set to become," said Steinberg. "Last year our main goal was to change the culture of the program and to become a competitive one in everything we do. We were able to do that in a rather short amount of time, and credit for that goes to our players for buying in right away. This past fall we added four freshmen to our team, and while establishing a new culture has its ups and downs, the freshmen picked up right where we left off last spring. We are learning how to compete, how to get uncomfortable, how to push each other daily, and how successful teams and teammates support and act with each other. The process of building is never a straight line, and we've had several bumps along the way, but I believe these uncomfortable moments are what is going to make this team and program tougher and stronger in the future."

The Buffs finished the season with an 8-6 record, the first winning season since 2009 for the program. The team had a key road win against Iowa, 4-3, in Iowa City and picked up their final win against Minnesota in Boulder with a 4-1 victory. The match against the Gophers was especially dominant with the road team entering with a 10-2 record. Monica Malinen had a key win in the No.1 singles match, while Sara Nayar had a three-set victory in the No.3 singles match as she worked her way back from injury. Freshman Sophia Derivan clinched the match with a strong 6-0, 6-3 win in the No. 4 singles match.

"Our season started off very well, and I sensed we were getting better in every match we played," said Steinberg. "Things really started to come together for us in our road win against Iowa, and then our home win against Minnesota. Our goal is always to peak during Pac-12 play, and I can say for certain that our match vs. Washington was our best match of the year. Even though we lost that match, we were so proud of the team for their grit, fight, and overall performance. We really felt like things were coming together at the right time and that we will keep getting better and better with every match we play."

The Washington match ended up being the last of the season as the team lost 4-2 against the No.30-ranked team in the nation. Colorado began the match down 3-0 before three freshmen started to breathe life into a comeback. Maria Campos picked up a win in the No.6 singles match followed by Derivan in the No.4 match. Antonia Balzert had just tied up the No.3 singles set and was down 3-2 in the third set when the match was clinched.

"Our team is comprised of one senior, four sophomores and four freshmen," said Steinberg. "To say we are young is an understatement! The positive side of being young is that everyone on the team has the opportunity to step up and be a leader, and we definitely saw it from several of our players."

The fall was very successful with Malinen and Nayar earning invites to numerous ITA national events around the nation. The rest of the squad put together strong performances in numerous tournaments that included several bracket wins.

"Despite the team being disappointed with the ending of our season, we are all very encouraged by our progress and hungry to get back to work and see how much more we can improve next year," said Steinberg. "Our goals as a program remain the same, and I am certain we are getting closer and closer to achieving those goals."

In a time of uncertainty, one thing is certain for Colorado tennis. Next season the Buffaloes will return older and stronger than ever with a heavy appetite for success.

Players Mentioned

Antonia Balzert

Maria Campos

Sophia Derivan

Monica Malinen

Sara Nayar

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