Buffs Look to Finish the Season Strong

BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes Tennis team closes out the regular season at home against No. 52 Utah at 12:30 on Friday. The match is currently scheduled to take place at the CU Tennis Complex on south campus, but could be moved indoors to the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center due to weather.

With it being the final home match of the season comes with it the final home match for Antonia Balzert at Colorado. Balzert came to Colorado in the fall of 2019 and her career has gone anything but smoothly. Her first season came to an abrupt end when the season was cut short due to COVID-19. The following fall was nonexistent as well with tournaments again cancelled.

The final two years of her career at Colorado have been quite different. Balzert has played high in the lineup for both singles and doubles the previous two seasons earning Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 in 2021. This season Balzert has gone 17-14 at No. 1 singles this so far this season. Balzert currently stands at 50 career singles win which puts her at 34th all-time at Colorado.

As Senior Day approaches Balzert is looking forward to playing her final home match at Colorado, but admits it will be emotional for her.
"I'm super excited," Balzert said on Senior Day. "It is kind of emotional though. My parents and my best friend are flying in, so I'm excited to see them and then obviously have one more opportunity to beat Utah."

When Balzert looks back at her college career the first thing she will remember was defeating Washington this season.

"When I look back the Washington match is the highlight for my career," Balzert said. "It was such a nerve-racking match and that we beat that team. That was the best college experience I've had."

After a tough weekend against Arizona and Arizona State, the Buffs will look to rebound against Utah starting with Doubles. The Buffs haven't won the doubles point since defeating Northern Arizona back on March 27.

"It's always a point of focus for us," Head Coach Anthony Pham said on the doubles point. "We haven't played up to our expectations in doubles recently and that's something that we are continuing to address with players and the team. I think we haven't done a good job of doing the little things and we have to do a better job of that specifically going into Utah and the Pac-12 tournament."

Along with improving at doubles Pham is looking for each player to continue to improve like they have throughout the season, but wants the entire team to focus on having more of a sense of urgency as the season winds down.

"I think there's always specific areas for each player that we're addressing with them, but just overall coming out with more energy in doubles and playing with a sense of urgency. We want to make the most out of this opportunity."

The Buffs are looking to get to 12 wins for the first time since 2009.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Antonia Balzert