Colorado Sweeps Sunday Competition

Sunday, February 15

Minneapolis, MN

8 a.m.

Colorado

Minnesota

February 15, 2026 | Tennis

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The Buffs add two dominant victories to the record.

By: Teagan Schreiber, Athletic Communications Student Assistant

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Colorado Buffaloes tennis team (5-2) found a near-perfect Sunday of competition, downing Minnesota and St. Thomas in matching 4-1 victories on the road.

The Buffs clinched the doubles point in both matchups, and then continued into singles finding six wins overall.

"Extremely proud of the way our team competed today overall," said head coach Anthony Pham. "We played with great energy and showed a ton of poise against a very good Minnesota team."

Colorado gave Minnesota its first loss of the season, along with Aya El Sayed securing a win at the No. 1 singles spot over a ranked opponent.

The Buffs win over the Tommies gave Colorado its fifth win of the season. The Black and Gold found straight-set singles wins in every match, and each unfinished matchup was led by a Buff, who needed only one game to finish the job.

"We showed great maturity in being able to turn around get the job done against St Thomas in some challenging conditions," Pham said. "Playing a double header on the road at two different facilities is never an easy task and our team stepped up and met the challenge today. We took some positive steps today, and we look forward to a getting back to Boulder to prepare for another weekend of challenging matches on the road."

HOW IT HAPPENED
To begin doubles against Minnesota, Lera Alexin and Rixt van der Werff found success with a 6-1 win over Liepert and Schmitz.

Setting the tone for singles, El Sayed and Pia Rebec secured the doubles point at the top spot, 6-4, over Ante and Pinto.

Heading into singles, the Gophers got on the board with a win at No. 2 from Ante. The Gopher downed van der Werff, 6-2, 6-3, to bring the score to 2-1 Buffs.

El Sayed then captured her ranked win over No. 117 Schmitz, in a tough three-set battle. After losing the first set, the Buff came back in the last two with matching 6-3 wins to bring Colorado to a 3-1 lead.

To clinch the match, Alexin topped it off at No. 5, downing opponent Xie in another tough three-set battle.

With a loss in the first, Alexin came back, also finding 6-3 second and third sets, sealing the deal for the Buffs with a 4-1 win.

Against St. Thomas, doubles began with a win from Willow Gretsch and Heidi Crncan at No. 3 over Yarwood and Stichle, 6-1.

Capturing the doubles point, Lani Brotman and Anya Nelson wrapped it up at No. 2, downing Olson and Forsberg, 6-2.

The first singles win came from freshman Heidi Crncan at No. 5, taking a perfect match over Vander Stichle, 6-0, 6-0, creating a 2-0 lead for the Buffs.

At the top spot, El Sayed fell short in two matches against Korseth, 7-5, 6-1, putting the Tommies on the board.

Van der Werff gave Colorado its third singles victory to follow, defeating Lindahl at No. 2, 6-2, 7-5.
Alexin found her second clinch of the day for Colorado, taking it home in straight sets over Olson, 6-2, 6-4.

UP NEXT
Colorado will travel for another three-match weekend, starting on Friday in Las Vegas. The Buffs will face UNLV, followed by Gonzaga and Utah Tech on Saturday.

RESULTS

MINNESOTA
Doubles

El Sayed/Rebec (CU) def. Ante/Pinto (MINN), 6-4
Alexin/van der Werff (CU) def. Liepert/Schmitz (MINN), 6-1
Ma/Xie (MINN) vs. Nelson/Brotman (CU), 4-4, unf.

Order of finish: 2, 1

Singles

Aya El Sayed (CU) def. Aiva Schmitz (MINN), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
Jeselle Ante (MINN) def. Rixt van der Werff (CU), 6-2, 6-3
Pia Rebec (CU) def. Sofia Pinto (MINN), 7-6, 6-4
Mia Liepert (MINN) vs. Lani Brotman (CU), 5-7, 6-3, unf.
Lera Alexin (CU) def. Anlin Xie (MINN), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Yinong Ma (MINN) def. Anya Nelson (CU), 3-6, 6-4, unf.

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3, 5

ST. THOMAS
Doubles

El Sayed/Rebec (CU) vs. Korseth/Lindahl (ST), 5-3, unf.
Brotman/Nelson (CU) def. Olson/Forsberg (ST), 6-2
Gretsch/Crncan (CU) def. Yarwood/Stichle, 6-1

Order of finish: 3, 2

Singles

Emilia Korseth (ST) def. Aya El Sayed (CU), 7-5, 6-1
Rixt van der Werff (CU) def. Caroline Lindahl (ST), 6-1, 7-5
Lani Brotman (CU) vs. Anna Sidorenko (ST), 7-6, 5-0, unf.
Lera Alexin (CU) def. Lily Olson (ST), 6-2, 6-4
Heidi Crncan (CU) def. Else Vander Stichle (ST), 6-0, 6-0
Alize Yarwood (ST) vs. Yukiko Ikedo (CU), 6-2, 6-5, unf.

Order of finish: 5, 1, 2, 4

NOTES

Colorado now leads Minnesota 6-1 in the series record.
The Buffs also secured their first win over St. Thomas in their first matchup against the team.
El Sayed now holds 90 career wins overall in singles and doubles competition.
Van der Werff recorded her 15^th career singles victory, and 20^th career doubles victory.
Alexin was the solo Buff to go 2-0 on the weekend in singles competition.