Buffs Fall to No. 2 Stanford

STANFORD, Calif. – The Colorado Buffaloes Tennis team dropped its first match of the season on Friday with a 4-1 loss to No. 2 Stanford on the first day of the ITA Kickoff Weekend.

For the first time in program history the Buffs (1-1) took the doubles point and the lead against the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal (4-0) with wins at both the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles positions. The Buffs saw wins from returning duo in Mila Stanojevic and Elys Ventura and first-time duo Ema Bubalo and Anya Nelson at the No. 3 spot.

"Really proud of this group, for the way they competed today," head coach Anthony Pham commented on the day. "We encountered a fair bit of adversity and to their credit they controlled what they could control and they battled. We played with great energy and enthusiasm in doubles and our decision making was rock solid."

The Buffs were faced with some last minute shuffling due to injuries to Alexandra Abyasova and Betina Tokac.

When singles rolled around the Cardinal took four consecative wins to clinch the match. Stanford took singles matches at No. 2, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6. The Cardinal feature a singles lineup with five players ranked in the top 70 in the country.

When the match was clinched Aya EL Sayed was in line to win her first ranked singles match against No. 48 Angelica Blake. She controlled the match in the first set with a 6-3 win, and was on the verge of closing the second set when Stanford clinched the team win and play was suspended.

CU will take on UNLV to close out the ITA Kickoff Weekend Saturday at Noon.

"We need to make some adjustments and be ready to play against a very good UNLV team tomorrow," Pham said.

HOW IT HAPPENED

From the start the Buff took control of doubles, Stanojevic and Ventura took an early lead 2-0 at the No.2 spot against Ma and Yepifanova currently ranked No. 28 in the country by the ITA. After the match tightened up at 3-2, Stanojevic and Ventura closed winning the last three games to give an early edge in doubles.
For the first time partners, Bubalo and Nelson after being tied at one game a piece to Hui and Xu they would finish the match winning 6-3 to clinch the doubles point for Colorado and give them the first lead against the Cardinal in program history.
Against the No. 27 ranked doubles pair Aya El Sayed and Pia Rebec ended unfinished after clinching the doubles point with the match ending 5-3 in favor of Stanford.
Three singles matches would end nearly simultaneously, with No. 64 in the country Blokhina defeating Rebec 6-0, 6-2 to tie the match for the Cardinal.
Quickly after Xu, ranked No. 50, would take the lead after taking down Ellen Puzak at No. 6 singles, 6-1, 6-1.
Sophomore Carri Hayes would battle against Hui, but ultimately fell 6-1, 6-3, bringing the score to 3-1 Stanford.
In the top three positions all battled each set, but Connie Ma the 2023 Pac-12 Champion and currently the No. 11 singles player clinched the match at No. 2 against Ventura 6-3, 6-1.
At the No. 3 position Stanojevic was fighting back after dropping the first set 6-2. The second set was a back-and-forth affair against Yepifanova No. 49, the set was 5-6 but was not finished.
For El Sayed at No. 1 singles, she was cruising a victory over No. 48 Blake winning 6-3, 4-3 when the match finished.

NOTES

This marks the first time Colorado won the doubles point against the Stanford Cardinal in program history.
This also stands as the first ever lead against Stanford in program history.
For Mila Stanojevic and Elys Ventura, their doubles win against No. 28 Ma and Yepifanova was the first ranked win for the duo.
The new pairing of Ema Bubalo and Anya Nelson saw their first win as a duo as well as both earing their first doubles clinch of their career.

UP NEXT
The Buffs will be back on the court to take on UNLV in the final day of the ITA Kickoff Weekend tomorrow at Noon.

RESULTS
Colorado 1, Stanford 4
January 26, 2024
Stanford, Calif. (Taube Family Tennis Center)

Doubles
1.   El Sayed/Rebec (CU) vs. No. 27 Blake/Blokhina (STAN) 3-5 unf.
2.   Stanojevic/Ventura (CU) def. No. 28 Ma/Yepifanova (STAN) 6-2
3.   Bubalo/Nelson (CU) def. Hui/Xu (STAN) 6-3
Order of Finish: (2,3*)

Singles
1.   Aya El Sayed (CU) vs. No. 48 Angelica Blake (STAN) 6-3, 4-3 unf.
2.   No. 11 Connie Ma (STAN) def. Elys Ventura (CU) 6-3, 6-1
3.   Mila Stanojevic (CU) vs. No. 49 Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) 2-6, 5-6 unf.
4.   No. 64 Alexis Blokhina (STAN) def. Pia Rebec (CU) 6-0, 6-2
5.   Katherine Hui (STAN) def. Carri Hayes (CU) 1-6, 3-6
6.   No. 50 Valencia Xu (STAN) def. Ellen Puzak (CU) 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: (4,6,5,2*)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alexandra Abyasova

Ema Bubalo

Aya El Sayed

Carri Hayes

Anya Nelson

Ellen Puzak

Pia Rebec

Mila Stanojevic

Betina Tokac

Elys Ventura