Wednesday, May 17
Peachtree, Ga.
1:00 PM
Colorado
4
vs
1
Cal Poly
Buffs Top Cal Poly To Advance In Universal Tennis NIT
May 17, 2023 | Tennis
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.—The No. 62 Colorado Buffaloes women's tennis team won just its second postseason match in program history, topping Cal Poly 4-1 here Wednesday at the Peachtree City Tennis Center.Â
In its seventh postseason tournament that comes after conference championships, the Buffs (13-12) are now 2-6 all-time, picking up the first win since beating Utah in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 1998. Â
"Any win for us, we value and appreciate," CU Coach Anthony Pham said. Â "We're coming off finals and haven't played in a few weeks. Â It wasn't pretty, but that's not what it's about, it's about competing and fighting and that's what we did today. Â These tournaments are survive and advance."Â
After weather forced the teams inside and off of Amazon Prime, which couldn't televise the matches inside, the Buffs were in their element, playing on three courts similar to its home set up at the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center. Â
"We did a great job handling the situations and conditions," Pham said. "Having to move inside, not knowing exactly when we were going to start, it was dark and the courts were fast. Â We did a good job of handling everything that was thrown at us today."Â
HOW ITÂ HAPPENED
"Getting the doubles point was huge," Pham said. "You never know what happens in a match, if Aya and Toni hadn't come back, you never know. Â You just compete and fight and we did that today."Â
NOTES
UP NEXT
The Buffs now have a day off before the semifinals on Friday, where they will play Stetson. Â Exact times are to be determined by if weather holds and it's played outdoors, it should be streamed by Amazon Prime.
RESULTS
Doubles
1.   Balzert/El Sayed (CU) def. Dunkle/ Dunkle (CP) 7-5
2.   Bhunu/Buntrock (CP) def. Stanojevic/Ventura (CU) 6-2
3.   Puzak/Tokac (CU) def. Lamette/Ozerets (CP) 6-1
Order Of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1.   Kim Bhunu (CP) def. Antonia Balzert (CU) 7-5, 6-2
2.   Elys Ventura (CU) def. Melissa LaMette (CP) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
3.   Mila Stanojevic (CU) def. Peyton Dunkle (CP) 6-4, 6-0
4.   Aya El Sayed (CU) vs. Delanie Dunkle (CP) 6-2, 5-4 unf.
5.   Betina Tokac (CU) def. Kennedy Bundrock (CP) 6-1, 6-0
6.   Carri Hayes (CU) vs. Alexandra Ozerets (CP), 5-1 unf.
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2, 5
Â
In its seventh postseason tournament that comes after conference championships, the Buffs (13-12) are now 2-6 all-time, picking up the first win since beating Utah in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 1998. Â
"Any win for us, we value and appreciate," CU Coach Anthony Pham said. Â "We're coming off finals and haven't played in a few weeks. Â It wasn't pretty, but that's not what it's about, it's about competing and fighting and that's what we did today. Â These tournaments are survive and advance."Â
After weather forced the teams inside and off of Amazon Prime, which couldn't televise the matches inside, the Buffs were in their element, playing on three courts similar to its home set up at the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center. Â
"We did a great job handling the situations and conditions," Pham said. "Having to move inside, not knowing exactly when we were going to start, it was dark and the courts were fast. Â We did a good job of handling everything that was thrown at us today."Â
HOW ITÂ HAPPENED
- In doubles action, Ellen Puzak and Betina Tokac easily handled Melissa LeMette and Alexandra Ozerets, 6-1, to give the Buffs a quick advantage.Â
- Cal Poly tied it up at 1-1 in doubles with a win from Kim Bhunu and Kennedy Buntrock at No. 2 doubles over Mila Stanojevic and Elys Ventura, 6-2. Â
- Down 5-0, Antonia Balzert and Aya El Sayed won seven straight to beat Mustang sister Delanie and Peyton Dunkle, 7-5, and give the Buffs an important 1-0 advantage entering singles play.Â
"Getting the doubles point was huge," Pham said. "You never know what happens in a match, if Aya and Toni hadn't come back, you never know. Â You just compete and fight and we did that today."Â
- At No. 3 singles, Stanojevic took care of business over Peyton Dunkle, 6-4, 6-0, to put the Buffs up 2-0. Â After going up 4-1, Dunkle made it close at 4-3, but then Stanojevic won eight of the next nine games to take the match.Â
- The Mustangs then scored their only point with Balzert falling in a hard fought match, 7-5, 6-2 to Bhunu. Â
- Ventura, who lost her first set 6-3, fought back with an impressive 6-1, 6-3 comeback win to give the Buffs a 3-1 advantage. Â She jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set and cruised and then got up two breaks in the third to close it out. Â
- In a race to see who would clinch the match between El Sayed and Tokac, Tokac won on the strength of her 6-1, 6-0 win over Buntrock. Â
- When Tokac won, giving the Buffs a 4-1 decision, El Sayed was up 5-4 in her second set after winning 6-2 in her first.
- Carri Hayes also had an impressive first set over Ozerets, up 5-1 when the match was called.Â
NOTES
- In a year of first and first since a long time ago, the Buffs added another one by topping Cal Poly 4-1, earning just the second postseason win in program history and first in 25 years since topping Utah (not a conference opponent at that time) in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament 5-1. Â
- The Buffs also matched the latest date into May having played a match in program history, also having played a match on May 17 in 1999, falling to South Alabama 5-0 in the NCAA Tournament.Â
- The Buffs won their 13th dual match of the season and have now won more dual matches than any season in the last 16 years, dating back to a 16-8 record in the 2006-07 season, the last postseason appearance for the Buffaloes.Â
- Balzert and El Sayed improve to 12-16 on the season and 7-11 in dual matches, including a 7-4 record in non-conference dual matches.Â
- Puzak and Tokac improve to 11-16 on the season, and 9-14 in dual matches, but 8-5 in non-conference dual matches. Â
- Tokac improved to 13-7 on the season and 10-6 in dual matches, including a 8-2 mark in non-league dual match play this season.Â
- Ventura picked up her 16th win of the season, and eighth in dual matches and is now 8-6 in non-conference dual matches this season.Â
- Stanojevic won her 12th match of the season and eighth dual match. Â
UP NEXT
The Buffs now have a day off before the semifinals on Friday, where they will play Stetson. Â Exact times are to be determined by if weather holds and it's played outdoors, it should be streamed by Amazon Prime.
RESULTS
Doubles
1.   Balzert/El Sayed (CU) def. Dunkle/ Dunkle (CP) 7-5
2.   Bhunu/Buntrock (CP) def. Stanojevic/Ventura (CU) 6-2
3.   Puzak/Tokac (CU) def. Lamette/Ozerets (CP) 6-1
Order Of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1.   Kim Bhunu (CP) def. Antonia Balzert (CU) 7-5, 6-2
2.   Elys Ventura (CU) def. Melissa LaMette (CP) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
3.   Mila Stanojevic (CU) def. Peyton Dunkle (CP) 6-4, 6-0
4.   Aya El Sayed (CU) vs. Delanie Dunkle (CP) 6-2, 5-4 unf.
5.   Betina Tokac (CU) def. Kennedy Bundrock (CP) 6-1, 6-0
6.   Carri Hayes (CU) vs. Alexandra Ozerets (CP), 5-1 unf.
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2, 5
Â
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Kim Bhunu / 0 [CP]
76
52
#2 Singles Match
123
Melissa LaMette / 0 [CP]
613
366
#3 Singles Match
12
Peyton Dunkle / 0 [CP]
40
66
#4 Singles Match
123
Delanie Dunkle / 0 [CP]
240
65UF
#5 Singles Match
12
Kennedy Buntrock / 0 [CP]
10
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Alexandra Ozerets / 0 [CP]
10
5UF
Order of Finish:
3,1,2,5
Players Mentioned
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