Buffs Battle at Regionals

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – The Colorado Buffaloes tennis team continued to thrive at the ITA Mountain region championships at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center on Thursday, with three Buffs earning a spot in the in the next round on Friday.

For a brand-new double's duo, Aya El Sayed and Pia Rebec are quickly proving to be a problem on the court for opponents and today it was a pair of sisters that had the unfortunate of having to face off against them. New Mexico's Bente and Maud Vandeputte would face off against El Sayed and Rebec in the round of 32 early Thursday morning but would find there connection still couldn't top the Buffs. A workman like effort would end up in an 8-4 victory and a spot in the next round for Colorado's last remaining double's team.

After the only doubles match of the day, the focus would shift to the singles courts where the Buffs would have six different athletes take a shot at moving on to the next round. For junior Mila Stanojevic that would not be an easy task going against the No. 1 seed in the tournament from BYU. Despite the effort she would be unable to come away with the upset ultimately falling 6-1, 6-3 in the second round.

Meanwhile in the Flight B bracket sophomore Anya Nelson and senior Ellen Puzak would start out the morning adding two wins for the Buffs. Puzak would cruise to the next round with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over conference rival Isabella Pitchford from Utah. Nelson on the other hand battled to the very end of the first two sets, and found a way to finish on top in both 6-4, 7-6(4) to advance as well.

Both Nelson and Puzak returned to the courts later in the afternoon in the round of 16, but did not come away with the same results. They would both end up losing in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 and 6-3, 6-1 respectively.

Some matches the balls bounce your way, and sometimes they do not. That was the case today for sophomore Carri Hayes in her second-round match against Montana's Hailey Murphy. In the first set neither could pull away leading to another seven-point tiebreaker. Just as the rest of the match looked, it could have gone either way, but in the end, it finished 7-6(5) in favor of Montana. Despite the tough first set loss, Hayes came out in the second set and continued to battle but again fall 6-4 to close the match.

Back in the Flight A bracket El Sayed was back on the court against Weber State's Megan Davies. Throughout the match El Sayed was unable to capture any momentum early which proved to be too much to overcome, losing 6-1, 6-3 in straight sets.

In what would become the story of the day came from senior Elys Ventura. She had a tall task in front of her facing the No. 6 seed in the tournament Sophie Zehender from Wyoming. Despite the challenge she brought the fight to her from the first serve winning the first set 7-5 to take an early lead. Despite winning the first set getting the second would not be an easy feat. Ventura continued her fight back and forth using the early momentum to her advantage. In the end she closed out the match clinching the upset 6-4 in a straight set victory.

The day wouldn't stop there for Ventura, she used the victory and propelled herself into the next round where she would face a familiar foe for the Buffs Maud Vandeputte who faced off against El Sayed and Rebec in doubles earlier in the morning. Much like the previous match for her Colorado would close on top. Ventura would close her day with a 6-4, 7-5 win to advance to the quarterfinals.

Up Next
The Buffs are back in action at the Ita Mountain Region Championships tomorrow with the round of 16 and the quarterfinals in doubles action as well as the quarterfinals for singles. Aya El Sayed and Pia Rebec are still alive in doubles along with Elys Ventura in singles. They all still have the opportunity to qualify for the ITA Fall National Championships with a top two finish.

Results
ITA Mountain Region Championships
Doubles
Round of 64
Aya El Sayed/Pia Rebec (CU) def. Marlene Foerster/ Lou Anne Guerbert (NEV) 8-7(2)
Annabel Davis/Ida Johansson (ID) def. Mila Stanojevic/Elys Ventura (CU) 8-7(1)
Zara Lennon/Sarah Weekley (CSU) def. Ellen Puzak/Betina Tokac (CU) 8-4
Samantha Horwood/Emma Kamper (UT) def. Carri Hayes/Anya Nelson (CU) 8-4
Round of 32
Aya El Sayed/Pia Rebec (CU) def. Bente Vandeputte/Maud Vandeputte (NM) 8-4

Singles
Flight A
Round of 64
Mila Stanojevic (CU) def. Alexis Odom (UAFA) 6-0, 6-2
Elys Ventura (CU) def. Anna Pinaieva (NM) 6-4, 6-3
Noesjka Brink (WYO) def. Pia Rebec (CU) 6-2, 6-4
Tina Li (BYU) def. Betina Tokac (CU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
Aya El Sayed (CU) def. Carlotta Mencaglia (UTEP) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2)
Round of 32
Yujia Huang (BYU) def. Mila Stanojevic (CU) 6-1, 6-3
Megan Davies (WSU) def. Aya El Sayed (CU) 6-1, 6-3
Elys Ventura (CU) def. Sophie Zehender (WYO) 7-5, 6-4
Round of 16
Elys Ventura (CU) def. Maud Vandeputte (NM) 6-4, 7-5

Flight B
Round of 64
Ellen Puzak (CU) def. Dylan Lolotie (WSU) 6-4, 7-5
Anya Nelson (CU) def. Natsuki Nishimura (NMS) 6-0, 7-5
Carri Hayes (CU) def. Kylie Kezos (DSU) 6-3, 6-2
Round of 32
Ellen Puzak (CU) def. Isabella Pitchford (UT) 6-2, 6-3
Anya Nelson (CU) def. Sarka Richterova (CSU) 6-4, 7-6(4)
Hailey Murphy (MT) def. Carri Hayes (CU) 7-6(5), 6-4
Round of 16
Claudia Martinez de Velasco (DU) def. Ellen Puzak (CU) 6-3, 6-1
Indya Nespor (USU) def. Anya Nelson (CU) 6-2, 6-2

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Aya El Sayed

Carri Hayes

Anya Nelson

Ellen Puzak

Pia Rebec

Mila Stanojevic

Betina Tokac

Elys Ventura