Buffs Fall To Stetson In NIT Semifinals

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.—The Colorado Buffaloes Tennis team saw its 2022-23 season come to an end Friday with a 4-3 loss to Stetson in the semifinals of the Universal Tennis NIT Championship.

The Buffs won the doubles point and took wins at Nos. 5 & 6 singles, but fell in the top four singles matches to the Hatters.

"Congrats to Stetson on the victory," CU Coach Anthony Pham said. "We just couldn't get over the hump today. We picked a bad day to not play up to our expectations at some of the spots. We competed hard, the effort is always there with this group, we just couldn't get it done today, Stetson was a big part of that."

With CU up 1-0 after doubles, the Hatters took a 2-1 lead with wins and No. 2 and No. 3 singles before Betina Tokac tied it back up at 2-2 at No. 5 singles. Carri Hayes then gave the Buffs the lead back at 3-2 at No. 6 singles before losses at No. 4 then No. 1 ended the Buffs season.

While bittersweet, the Buffs still had a tremendous season winning 13 dual matches, including two in the post season with the program's first Pac-12 win and second win in a post-conference tournament and first in 24 years. It was the Buffs first postseason appearance in 16 seasons and most wins in 15 seasons.

"I just talked to the team, with anything, you're always going 100 miles per hour, what's next, what do we have going on," Pham said. "You try not to get caught up in things because you don't have the time. But taking a step back, you appreciate the group that we had, they worked hard, they bought in to what Brian and I are trying to establish with the program. We had a lots of firsts, a lot of steps forward, now hopefully with the group we have coming back and the group we have incoming, we're hungry for more. We can't be content."

Looking ahead, the Buffs will return seven of eight players from this team but will have to replace Antonia Balzert, who had one of the best seasons in recent memory for the Buffs.

"I want to thank everyone who made it possible for me to be a part of this team," Balzert said after her final match. "My family, teammates, coaches and staff at CU. Without them, this all would not have been possible. Looking back at my career, I am just thankful for all the opportunities athletics has given me and even through the harder times such as the pandemic, we made the best out of each situation."

Balzert finishes her career with 50 singles wins and 85 overall wins despite missing much of two seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She earned second-team All-Pac-12, just the second Buff to earn that honor and was named Academic All-District, becoming the first player honored with that award. Her overall wins, singles wins and 14 career wins at No. 1 singles are all on the CU career charts.

"While I might not be playing as a Buff this coming season, deep down I will always be one," Balzert said. "I can't wait to see what this amazing team has in store in the future. I will forever be grateful to be able to say I was a part of this program. This is not goodbye Buffs, I will be back."

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Buffs were consistently up in each of the three doubles matches, with Ellen Puzak and Betina Tokac breaking Pilar Astigarrage Harper and Magdalena Hedrzak multiple times to win the set 6-2.
Both pairs up 5-4 and serving, it was a race to the finish and CU's No. 1 doubles team of Antonia Balzert and Aya El Sayed won four straight points to close out their match just ahead of Mila Stanojevic and Elys Ventura at No. 2. Balzert and El Sayed beat Cheri Darley and Alanna DiFrancesco 6-4 while Stanojevic and Ventura's match against Noa Cohen and Anais Gabriel was not finished with the Buffs up 5-4.
Three matches ended nearly simultaneously, with Gabriel defeating Ventura 6-3, 6-3 to tie the match up at 1-1.
The Hatters would then take a 2-1 lead on court three with Darley defeating Stanojevic, 6-2,6-3.
Within minutes, or possibly seconds, the Buffs then tied the match at 2-2 with Tokac's win on No. 5 over Hedrzak, 6-3, 6-3.
About seven minutes later, Carri Hayes picked up an impressive 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles over Astigarrage Harper to put the Buffs back up 3-2, the third scoring change of the match.
The back-and-fourth would continue as the Hatters would tie it up approximately six minutes later El Sayed falling to Cohen, 6-3, 6-4.
It all came down to No. 1 singles, where in the first set, Balzert led 5-4 before falling 7-5. In the second set, she was up 3-2 but fell 6-3 against DiFrancesco to close out her CU career.

UP NEXT

That's a wrap for the 2022-23 season, one for the record books for the Buffaloes.

RESULTS

Stetson 4, Colorado 3
May 19, 2023
Universal NIT Championship Semifinals

DOUBLES

Antonia Balzert/Aya El Sayed (CU) def. Cheri Darley/Alanna DiFrancesco (SU) 6-4
Mila Stanojevic/Elys Ventura (CU) vs. Noa Cohen/Anais Gabriel (SU) 5-4 unf.
Ellen Puzak/Betina Tokac (CU) def. Pilar Astigarrage Harper/Magdalena Hedrzak (ST), 6-2

Order of Finish: 3, 1

SINGLES

Alanna DiFrancesco (SU) def. Antonia Balzert (CU), 7-6, 6-3
Anais Gabriel (SU) def. Elys Ventura (CU), 6-3, 6-3
Cheri Darley (SU) def. Mila Stanojevic (CU), 6-2, 6-3
Noa Cohen (SU) def. Aya El Sayed (CU), 6-3, 6-3
Betina Tokac (CU) def. Magdalena Hedrzak (SU), 6-3, 6-3
Carri Hayes (CU) def. Pilar Astigarrage Harper (SU), 6-3, 6-1

Order of Finish: 2, 3, 5, 6, 4, 1

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Players Mentioned

Antonia Balzert

Aya El Sayed

Carri Hayes

Ellen Puzak

Mila Stanojevic

Betina Tokac

Elys Ventura

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