Saturday, January 13
Riverside, Calif.
12:00 PM
Colorado
at
UC Riverside
Buffaloes Open Season Saturday at UC Riverside
January 11, 2024 | Tennis
Action Begins at Noon with Doubles
BOULDER – It is time for the 2024 spring season to begin for the Colorado tennis team. The Buffs are coming off the heels of one of the best seasons in recent program history last year reaching the postseason for the first time since 2007.
Entering his third season as the head coach, Anthony Pham returns after leading the Buffs to their best record in a full season since 2015. Among other milestones that Pham led the team to last season include the most road wins since 2015 and the most wins outside of Boulder since 2019. CU will look to start the season 1-0 for the second straight year and the first time on the road since 2020 as they take on UC Riverside for the season opener Saturday.
This will start the first of three matches this month, all taking place in California. The Buffs arrived in Los Angeles for their spring training trip on Tuesday. This is the second straight year making the trip out west before the semester begins to prepare for the season.
"We did this last year, and it was really beneficial to get the team together," Pham noted. "Obviously going to California to be able to train outside is a big thing. This year we play at Stanford for the ITA Kickoff in a couple of weeks. This gives us a good opportunity to get a match under our belts as well as train outdoors and get some good team bonding time together."
With the first month of competition taking place in California the trip will prepare the team for outdoor competition in similar conditions to the first three matches.
"With the week of training as well as the match will give the team an opportunity to play a match outdoors, in what will probably be similar conditions to what we'll see at Stanford will be big," Pham said on the week of training. "A lot of the players have been training hard and preparing, but coming from colder climates. I think this will give us an opportunity to be outside and compete and experience different conditions."
The Buffaloes' makeup for the 2024 season will look nearly identical to last season. They return 83% of the dual singles victories and 71% of dual doubles matches from 2023. Of the returners five of the six singles and doubles positions return with Aya El Sayed, Carri Hayes, Anya Nelson, Ellen Puzak, Mila Stanojevic, Betina Tokac, and Elys Ventura all back and ready to pick up where they left off last season. El Sayed and Tokac are coming off All Pac-12 Honorable Mention last season.
Colorado will look to add to an experienced team with four newcomers to Boulder, starting with Alexandra Abyasova from Illinois State. Abyasova, an All-Missouri Valley Conference honors at No. 2 singles in 2023 will not be with the team this weekend but will begin with the team next week. Joining her are a trio of freshman Ema Bubalo, Willow Gretsch, and Pia Rebec. Rebec is coming off of a fall where she went 6-1 in the last two tournament with El Sayed as a partner.
With everyone returning from break after the fall tour, this week of training will be just a start to see where the lineup will look like moving forward.
"The lineup is always constantly evolving as you go through the season," Pham commented on the lineup. "Obviously health, how certain players are playing, and doubles teams play a role. But I think this gives us a really good jump start on things. Obviously, the lineup will change going into the ITA Kickoff but it is a good chance to see what we have."
The Buffs will look to get off to a fast start to prepare for the rest of their daunting schedule that features six teams in the ITA Preseason Top-25.Â
This will be only the second time facing off against UC Riverside, the first also on the road in 1992. The match finished with a 9-0 win over the Highlanders. UC Riverside is coming off of a 2-16 season in 2023.
Action begins Saturday at 12 p.m. MT with doubles. Follow along on our team's Instagram and X accounts @cubuffstennis.
Entering his third season as the head coach, Anthony Pham returns after leading the Buffs to their best record in a full season since 2015. Among other milestones that Pham led the team to last season include the most road wins since 2015 and the most wins outside of Boulder since 2019. CU will look to start the season 1-0 for the second straight year and the first time on the road since 2020 as they take on UC Riverside for the season opener Saturday.
This will start the first of three matches this month, all taking place in California. The Buffs arrived in Los Angeles for their spring training trip on Tuesday. This is the second straight year making the trip out west before the semester begins to prepare for the season.
"We did this last year, and it was really beneficial to get the team together," Pham noted. "Obviously going to California to be able to train outside is a big thing. This year we play at Stanford for the ITA Kickoff in a couple of weeks. This gives us a good opportunity to get a match under our belts as well as train outdoors and get some good team bonding time together."
With the first month of competition taking place in California the trip will prepare the team for outdoor competition in similar conditions to the first three matches.
"With the week of training as well as the match will give the team an opportunity to play a match outdoors, in what will probably be similar conditions to what we'll see at Stanford will be big," Pham said on the week of training. "A lot of the players have been training hard and preparing, but coming from colder climates. I think this will give us an opportunity to be outside and compete and experience different conditions."
The Buffaloes' makeup for the 2024 season will look nearly identical to last season. They return 83% of the dual singles victories and 71% of dual doubles matches from 2023. Of the returners five of the six singles and doubles positions return with Aya El Sayed, Carri Hayes, Anya Nelson, Ellen Puzak, Mila Stanojevic, Betina Tokac, and Elys Ventura all back and ready to pick up where they left off last season. El Sayed and Tokac are coming off All Pac-12 Honorable Mention last season.
Colorado will look to add to an experienced team with four newcomers to Boulder, starting with Alexandra Abyasova from Illinois State. Abyasova, an All-Missouri Valley Conference honors at No. 2 singles in 2023 will not be with the team this weekend but will begin with the team next week. Joining her are a trio of freshman Ema Bubalo, Willow Gretsch, and Pia Rebec. Rebec is coming off of a fall where she went 6-1 in the last two tournament with El Sayed as a partner.
With everyone returning from break after the fall tour, this week of training will be just a start to see where the lineup will look like moving forward.
"The lineup is always constantly evolving as you go through the season," Pham commented on the lineup. "Obviously health, how certain players are playing, and doubles teams play a role. But I think this gives us a really good jump start on things. Obviously, the lineup will change going into the ITA Kickoff but it is a good chance to see what we have."
The Buffs will look to get off to a fast start to prepare for the rest of their daunting schedule that features six teams in the ITA Preseason Top-25.Â
This will be only the second time facing off against UC Riverside, the first also on the road in 1992. The match finished with a 9-0 win over the Highlanders. UC Riverside is coming off of a 2-16 season in 2023.
Action begins Saturday at 12 p.m. MT with doubles. Follow along on our team's Instagram and X accounts @cubuffstennis.
Players Mentioned
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
Women's Tennis: Senior Day | Apr 13, 2025
Sunday, April 13
@cubuffstennis vs Arizona State SENIOR DAY #gobuffs
Monday, April 15
@cubuffstennis vs Arizona #gobuffs
Saturday, April 13
Let's Go @cubuffstennis #gobuffs
Wednesday, April 10