Colorado University Athletics
Thursday, March 19
Boulder, CO
12 p.m.
Colorado
2
vs
4
BYU
Colorado Drops Match Against No. 53 BYU
March 19, 2026 | Tennis
BOULDER – The No. 56 Colorado Buffaloes tennis team fell short to No. 53 BYU, 4-2, Thursday afternoon at the Boulder Meadows Club.
"It was a close, tough match," head coach Anthony Pham said, "I've said it before, our group is resilient, we got dealt a tricky hand today. It was warm, and the conditions definitely affected us, but there were two teams out there. In the end, we just came up a little short."
Colorado now holds a 10-6 overall record and a 2-4 mark in the Big 12. BYU moves to 14-4 overall, and 3-3 in conference play.
The Buffs captured the doubles point to begin the day, finding wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.
The victory at the No. 2 spot came from Aya El Sayed and her freshman partner Yukiko Ikedo, who marked her first career Big 12 match and victory. Ikedo replaced Pia Rebec as El Sayed's doubles partner.
"Yuki got thrown into doubles and helped decide that point, so I was proud of her for that," Pham said.
In singles play, the Buffs notched a win despite the Cougars taking the match. Rixt van der Werff found her 10th career dual victory in her straight set win at No. 2.
"Rixt, she was playing a good player," said Pham, "She did a good job today, was in control on her side of the court, I don't think she'd say she played her best match, but she managed it well and I'm proud of her."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado was first with a victory at the No. 3 doubles spot with an impressive comeback from Ema Bubalo and Anya Nelson. Bella Lewis and Sue Yan Tan led 5-3, until the Buffs came back with four straight games to find a 7-5 victory.
The Cougars made it even at the top spot, with Grace Levelston and Karina Mohamed downing Lera Alexin and Van der Werff, 6-4.
To finish doubles play, a back-and-forth battle came at the No. 2 spot with El Sayed and Ikedo. The pair battled to a 5-5 set against Yu-Yun Chen and Kendall Kovick, then finished notching two games to secure the 7-5 win, earning the doubles point for Colorado and giving the Buffs a 1-0 lead.
BYU got on the board first in singles play, bringing the team score to 1-1 with a win at No. 3. Yan Tan found a straight set win against Bubalo, bringing the second set to a tie finish, 6-1, 7-6 (2).
Van der Werff followed with a lead for the Buffs at No. 2. The Buff downed Kovick in straight sets, keeping a lead through each set, finishing 6-4, 6-3, to give the Buffs a 2-1 advantage.
BYU tied it up once again at the top spot, making it 2-2. Levelston found a win against El Sayed, 6-2, 6-4, bringing it down to the last three courts.
Giving the Cougars a 3-2 advantage, Mohamed took the match against Heidi Crncan in two sets, 7-5, 6-4, leaving it up to the last two positions.
At No. 4, BYU notched the 4-2 team victory with a win from Yuyun Chen over Lera Alexin, 7-5, 7-5.
Alexin was down 4-0 in the second, then secured five-straight games to find a 5-4 lead to find a fight, despite the loss.
"Credit to Lera, she was down 4-0, brought it back to 5-4, her opponent played some good points. She worked her way back into the match," said Pham.
Anya Nelson notched her first set against Sage Bergeson at No. 5, 6-2, then lost a second set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (3), going unfinished trailing 1-0 in the final.
"Our expectation is we won't give up," Pham said. "We fought hard, I'm not disappointed from that standpoint, we just didn't get it done."
UP NEXT
Colorado continues home competition on Saturday, facing No. 44 Utah at the Meadows Club. Play will begin at 1 p.m. (MT), with more information and live results available @cubuffstennis.
RESULTS
Doubles
Singles
NOTES
"It was a close, tough match," head coach Anthony Pham said, "I've said it before, our group is resilient, we got dealt a tricky hand today. It was warm, and the conditions definitely affected us, but there were two teams out there. In the end, we just came up a little short."
Colorado now holds a 10-6 overall record and a 2-4 mark in the Big 12. BYU moves to 14-4 overall, and 3-3 in conference play.
The Buffs captured the doubles point to begin the day, finding wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.
The victory at the No. 2 spot came from Aya El Sayed and her freshman partner Yukiko Ikedo, who marked her first career Big 12 match and victory. Ikedo replaced Pia Rebec as El Sayed's doubles partner.
"Yuki got thrown into doubles and helped decide that point, so I was proud of her for that," Pham said.
In singles play, the Buffs notched a win despite the Cougars taking the match. Rixt van der Werff found her 10th career dual victory in her straight set win at No. 2.
"Rixt, she was playing a good player," said Pham, "She did a good job today, was in control on her side of the court, I don't think she'd say she played her best match, but she managed it well and I'm proud of her."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado was first with a victory at the No. 3 doubles spot with an impressive comeback from Ema Bubalo and Anya Nelson. Bella Lewis and Sue Yan Tan led 5-3, until the Buffs came back with four straight games to find a 7-5 victory.
The Cougars made it even at the top spot, with Grace Levelston and Karina Mohamed downing Lera Alexin and Van der Werff, 6-4.
To finish doubles play, a back-and-forth battle came at the No. 2 spot with El Sayed and Ikedo. The pair battled to a 5-5 set against Yu-Yun Chen and Kendall Kovick, then finished notching two games to secure the 7-5 win, earning the doubles point for Colorado and giving the Buffs a 1-0 lead.
BYU got on the board first in singles play, bringing the team score to 1-1 with a win at No. 3. Yan Tan found a straight set win against Bubalo, bringing the second set to a tie finish, 6-1, 7-6 (2).
Van der Werff followed with a lead for the Buffs at No. 2. The Buff downed Kovick in straight sets, keeping a lead through each set, finishing 6-4, 6-3, to give the Buffs a 2-1 advantage.
BYU tied it up once again at the top spot, making it 2-2. Levelston found a win against El Sayed, 6-2, 6-4, bringing it down to the last three courts.
Giving the Cougars a 3-2 advantage, Mohamed took the match against Heidi Crncan in two sets, 7-5, 6-4, leaving it up to the last two positions.
At No. 4, BYU notched the 4-2 team victory with a win from Yuyun Chen over Lera Alexin, 7-5, 7-5.
Alexin was down 4-0 in the second, then secured five-straight games to find a 5-4 lead to find a fight, despite the loss.
"Credit to Lera, she was down 4-0, brought it back to 5-4, her opponent played some good points. She worked her way back into the match," said Pham.
Anya Nelson notched her first set against Sage Bergeson at No. 5, 6-2, then lost a second set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (3), going unfinished trailing 1-0 in the final.
"Our expectation is we won't give up," Pham said. "We fought hard, I'm not disappointed from that standpoint, we just didn't get it done."
UP NEXT
Colorado continues home competition on Saturday, facing No. 44 Utah at the Meadows Club. Play will begin at 1 p.m. (MT), with more information and live results available @cubuffstennis.
RESULTS
Doubles
- Grace Levelston/Karina Mohamed (BYU) def. Lera Alexin/Rixt van der Werff (CU), 6-4
- Aya El Sayed/Yukiko Ikedo (CU) def. Kendall Kovick/Yuyun Chen (BYU), 7-5
- Ema Bubalo/Anya Nelson (CU) def. Bella Lewis/Sue Yan Tan (BYU), 7-5
Singles
- Grace Levelston (BYU) def. Aya El Sayed (CU), 6-2, 6-4
- Rixt van der Werff (CU) def. Kendall Kovick (BYU), 6-4, 6-3
- Sue Yan Tan (BYU) def. Ema Bubalo (CU), 6-1, 7-6 (2)
- Yuyun Chen (BYU) def. Lera Alexin (CU), 7-5, 7-5
- Sage Bergeson (BYU) vs. Anya Nelson (CU), 2-6, 7-6 (3), 1-0, unf.
- Karina Mohamed (BYU) def. Heidi Crncan (CU), 7-5, 6-4
NOTES
- Colorado holds over 100 overall singles victories this season, and over 200 total in overall career wins.
- Bubalo and Nelson notch their seventh Big 12 victory this season, and 37th career victory as a pair.
- El Sayed and Ikedo's victory marks their first matchup as a duo.
- The victory was Ikedo's first career Big 12 doubles matchup, and first dual doubles win.
- Van der Werff recorded her 10th career dual victory, and fifth at the No. 2 position.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Gracie Levelston / 0 [BYU]
66
24
#2 Singles Match
12
Kendall Kovick / 0 [BYU]
43
66
#3 Singles Match
12
Sue Yan Tan / 0 [BYU]
67
16
#4 Singles Match
12
YuYun Chen / 0 [BYU]
77
55
#5 Singles Match
1234
Sage Bergeson / 0 [BYU]
271UF
660UF
#6 Singles Match
12
Bella Lewis / 0 [BYU]
76
54
Order of Finish:
3,2,1,6,4
Players Mentioned
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