Buffs Top Washington State, 5-2

BOULDER – Aya El Sayed picked up her ninth straight singles win and the No. 70 Colorado Buffaloes Tennis Team won five of six singles matches to defeat Washington State 5-2 here Friday afternoon at the CU Tennis Complex, earning the Buffs their first Pac-12 win of the season.

After a tough start dropping the doubles point, the Buffs responded with those five singles wins to improve to 10-8 overall and 1-5 in league play while the Cougars fall to 7-10 and 0-6 respectively.

How it Happened

The Buffs got the afternoon started getting the first win of the day at No. 3 doubles from Ellen Puzak and Betina Tokac over Hania Abouelsaad and Yang Lee 6-1.
Washington State took it's first match of the day at No. 2 doubles behind a 6-4 victory from Fifa Kumhom and Yura Nakagawa over Mila Stanojevic and Elys Ventura.
To clinch the doubles point Eva Alvarez Sande and Elyse Tse outlasted Antonia Balzert and Aya El Sayed in a back-and-forth match that finished in a 7-6 (3) tiebreaking win for the Cougars.
As singles action began the Buffs started to take control, starting with No. 5 singles player Betina Tokac. Tokac took the first set 6-4 and proceeded to dominate the second set 6-1 to defeat Hania Abouelsaad.
In the match of the day at No. 1 singles, Senior Antonia Balzert found herself down early in the first set 5-3, but that wouldn't last long. Balzert would go on to win 10 consecutive games to get the straight set win for the Buffs 7-5, 6-0 over Eva Alvarez Sande.
Lately the Buffs have come to expect a win at No. 4 singles from Aya El Sayed and this afternoon was no different. El Sayed got off to a fast start winning the first set 6-3 and would continue the momentum into the second set winning 6-4 to extend her winning streak to nine against Fifa Kumhom.
Elyse Tse closed the gap for the Cougars at No. 3 singles with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over Mila Stanojevic to bring Washington State within one point at 3-2.
At No. 2 singles Elys Ventura and Yura Nakagawa were locked in a tight match from the very beginning never gaining more than a game or two lead throughout both sets. But at the conclusion of each set Ventura found a way to close each set winning 7-5, 7-6 (3) to clinch the match for Colorado.
In the only three set match of the day at No. 6 singles Carri Hayes ended the day giving the Buffs their fifth singles victory over Yang Lee 6-3, 0-6, 6-4.

Notes

With a win over Washington State this gives Colorado it's first Pac-12 victory of the season.
For the first time since 2018-19 the Buffs have reached double digit wins.
Aya El Sayed extended her win streak at No. 4 singles to nine matches.
This is Colorado's first win over Washington State since 2021.
The 5-2 win is the largest margin of victory over Washington State in the history of the matchup.
Elys Ventura clinched her first match in her Colorado career.

Up Next
The Buffs return to action in less than 48 hours back at the CU Tennis Complex on Sunday April 9 against No. 16 Washington at 11:00 a.m. MST. Colorado will be looking to reach 11 wins for the first time since 2014-15.

Quotes
CU Coach Anthony Pham
"Every Pac-12 win is a good win, everyone in the Pac-12 is good and Washington State is no different. They brought it to us in doubles, but we did a great job responding in singles. Happy with the results, but more proud of the decision making. We talked about doing certain things in matches and certain moments, but to see it play out on so many courts it's encouraging to see the team keep improving."
On responding after losing the doubles point
"Every match is a little different, obviously we are very determined. Winning the doubles point helps, but at the same time whether you win or lose you have to be able to put that behind you and jump into singles and the team did a very good job of that today."
On playing outside at home for the first time
"We've been outside to practice for the first time yesterday, before playing out here today. What helped us was being out in California last week, so that helped a lot. The team did a good job today of adjusting to the conditions."
On getting ready for Sunday
"We are going to get a good day of practice tomorrow; Washington is a very good team. They're ranked number 16 in the country. We're going to give it our best and once again grow from match to match."

Results
No. 70 Colorado 5, Washington State 2
April 7, 2023
Boulder, Colo. (CU Tennis Complex)

Doubles
1.   Eva Alvarez Sande/Elyse Tse (WSU) def. Antonia Balzert/Aya El Sayed (CU) 7-6 (3)
2.   Fifa Kumhom/Yura Nakagawa (WSU) def. Mila Stanojevic/Elys Ventura (CU) 6-4
3.   Ellen Puzak and Betina Tokac (CU) def. Hania Abouelsaad and Yang Lee (WSU) 6-1
Order of Finish: (3,2,1)

Singles
1.   Antonia Balzert (CU) def. Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) 7-5, 6-0
2.   Elys Ventura (CU) def. Yura Nakagawa (WSU) 7-5, 7-6 (3)
3.   Elyse Tse (WSU) def. Mila Stanojevic (CU) 6-4, 7-6 (4)
4.   Aya El Sayed (CU) def. Fifa Kumhom (WSU) 6-3, 6-4
5.   Betina Tokac (CU) def. Hania Abouelsaad (WSU) 6-4, 6-1
6.   Carri Hayes (CU) def. Yang Lee (WSU) 6-3, 0-6, 6-4
Order of Finish: (5,1,4,3,2*,6)

Next Event

Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Antonia Balzert

Aya El Sayed

Carri Hayes

Ellen Puzak

Mila Stanojevic

Betina Tokac

Elys Ventura