Colorado University Athletics
Saturday, April 11
Boulder, CO
2 p.m.
Colorado
0
vs
4
TCU
Buffs Honors Seniors Against No. 20 TCU
April 11, 2026 | Tennis
BOULDER – The No. 66 Colorado Buffaloes tennis team finished the season this Saturday, falling 4-0 to No. 20 TCU at the Meadows Club.
Colorado finishes with a 10-13 overall record and a 2-11 mark in the Big 12. TCU improves to 17-4 overall, and 10-3 in conference.
"Today we created some opportunities against a very good TCU, but fell short in trying to convert them," said head coach Anthony Pham. "Our team fought very hard, but credit to TCU for the win."
Doubles began with an early lead from CU but resulted in two more wins from TCU to take the team point.
At the top doubles spot, Lera Alexin and Rixt van der Werff notched a clean sweep over Victoria Gomez O'Hayon and Yu-Chin Tsai, 6-0, marking their 21st and final win as a duo.
The win also placed the pair at the top of CU history. With 21 wins, the duo ends their the year tied at No. 1 in school history for most doubles wins as a pair in a season.
Following the three victories by TCU in singles play to clinch the match, the Buffs celebrated their two seniors, Van der Werff and Anya Nelson. Van der Werff finishes her college career after two years as a Buff, and Nelson finishes with a four-year career at Colorado.
"We fought to the very end, and I'm grateful I was able to just have a good day of smiling and having a good time with my teammates," said Nelson. "I would relive this day over and over again. Seeing everybody come out and support us is so awesome. We didn't get the win today, but we know we are capable of anything."
"I feel for our seniors who dealt with the adversity thrown at them," said Pham. "They never gave up, and as coaches we're very proud of them."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Buffs started off with a dominant doubles match at the top spot from Alexin and Van der Werff. The pair showed no signs of slowing down in their 6-0 sweep over Victoria Gomez O'Hayon and Yu-Chin Tsai, putting the Buffs on the board first.
"It was a great doubles match to end on with Lera," said Van der Werff. "I told her before the match 'last one, best one' and we really brought that. I think it was our best doubles match this season against a very strong team and winning like that is just amazing to end on, it's the cherry on top."
Moments after the Colorado win, TCU came back at No. 2 marking a win from Raquel Caballero Chica and Jennifer Jackson. The Horned Frogs defeated Aya El Sayed and Lani Brotman, 6-3.
The last match came down to a close finish, with a back-and-forth battle of Cayetana Gay and Tomi Main finding a 7-5 finish over Ema Bubalo and Nelson. The duo battled all the way to a 5-5 tie, then fell short in the last two games giving TCU the doubles point.
Singles began at the top spot with a win from No. 83 Chica Caballero over El Sayed, 6-4, 6-4, giving TCU a 2-0 lead.
Following Caballero, Gay notched a 6-2, 6-1 win over Heidi Crncan at No. 6 to make it a 3-0 lead for the Horned Frogs.
O'Hayon found the clinch for TCU at No. 4, downing Brotman in a 6-3, 7-5 finish.
With the win from TCU clinched, courts 2, 3, and 5 ended with unfinished matches. At No. 2, Tsai found a 7-5 first set over Van der Werff and led 2-1 in the second set before the clinch.
Alexin tied up her match at No. 5 against Jackson 3-3 in the second set, following a close 7-6 loss in the first.
Bubalo captured a first set victory against Cristina Ramos Sierra, 6-3 and trailed 5-4 in the unfinished second set.
RESULTS
Doubles
Singles
NOTES
Colorado finishes with a 10-13 overall record and a 2-11 mark in the Big 12. TCU improves to 17-4 overall, and 10-3 in conference.
"Today we created some opportunities against a very good TCU, but fell short in trying to convert them," said head coach Anthony Pham. "Our team fought very hard, but credit to TCU for the win."
Doubles began with an early lead from CU but resulted in two more wins from TCU to take the team point.
At the top doubles spot, Lera Alexin and Rixt van der Werff notched a clean sweep over Victoria Gomez O'Hayon and Yu-Chin Tsai, 6-0, marking their 21st and final win as a duo.
The win also placed the pair at the top of CU history. With 21 wins, the duo ends their the year tied at No. 1 in school history for most doubles wins as a pair in a season.
Following the three victories by TCU in singles play to clinch the match, the Buffs celebrated their two seniors, Van der Werff and Anya Nelson. Van der Werff finishes her college career after two years as a Buff, and Nelson finishes with a four-year career at Colorado.
"We fought to the very end, and I'm grateful I was able to just have a good day of smiling and having a good time with my teammates," said Nelson. "I would relive this day over and over again. Seeing everybody come out and support us is so awesome. We didn't get the win today, but we know we are capable of anything."
"I feel for our seniors who dealt with the adversity thrown at them," said Pham. "They never gave up, and as coaches we're very proud of them."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Buffs started off with a dominant doubles match at the top spot from Alexin and Van der Werff. The pair showed no signs of slowing down in their 6-0 sweep over Victoria Gomez O'Hayon and Yu-Chin Tsai, putting the Buffs on the board first.
"It was a great doubles match to end on with Lera," said Van der Werff. "I told her before the match 'last one, best one' and we really brought that. I think it was our best doubles match this season against a very strong team and winning like that is just amazing to end on, it's the cherry on top."
Moments after the Colorado win, TCU came back at No. 2 marking a win from Raquel Caballero Chica and Jennifer Jackson. The Horned Frogs defeated Aya El Sayed and Lani Brotman, 6-3.
The last match came down to a close finish, with a back-and-forth battle of Cayetana Gay and Tomi Main finding a 7-5 finish over Ema Bubalo and Nelson. The duo battled all the way to a 5-5 tie, then fell short in the last two games giving TCU the doubles point.
Singles began at the top spot with a win from No. 83 Chica Caballero over El Sayed, 6-4, 6-4, giving TCU a 2-0 lead.
Following Caballero, Gay notched a 6-2, 6-1 win over Heidi Crncan at No. 6 to make it a 3-0 lead for the Horned Frogs.
O'Hayon found the clinch for TCU at No. 4, downing Brotman in a 6-3, 7-5 finish.
With the win from TCU clinched, courts 2, 3, and 5 ended with unfinished matches. At No. 2, Tsai found a 7-5 first set over Van der Werff and led 2-1 in the second set before the clinch.
Alexin tied up her match at No. 5 against Jackson 3-3 in the second set, following a close 7-6 loss in the first.
Bubalo captured a first set victory against Cristina Ramos Sierra, 6-3 and trailed 5-4 in the unfinished second set.
RESULTS
Doubles
- Lera Alexin/Rixt van der Werff (CU) def. Victoria Gomez O'Hayon/Yu-Chin Tsai (TCU)
- Raquel Caballero Chica/Jennifer Jackson (TCU) def. Aya El Sayed/Lani Brotman (CU), 6-3
- Cayetana Gay/Tomi Main (TCU) def. Ema Bubalo/Anya Nelson (CU), 7-5
Singles
- No. 83 Raquel Chica Caballero (TCU) def. Aya El Sayed (CU), 6-4, 6-0
- Yu-Chin Tsai (TCU) vs. Rixt van der Werff (CU), 7-5, 2-1, unf.
- Ema Bubalo (CU) vs. Cristina Ramos Sierra (TCU), 6-3, 4-5, unf.
- Victoria Gomez O'Hayon (TCU) def. Lani Brotman (CU), 6-3, 7-5
- Jennifer Jackson (TCU) vs. Lera Alexin (CU), 7-6 (4), 3-3, unf.
- Cayetana Gay (TCU) def. Heidi Crncan (CU), 6-2, 6-1
NOTES
- Colorado finishes the season with 51 dual, 17 conference, and 111 overall singles victories.
- The Buffs also mark 10 dual, 5 Big 12, and 22 overall doubles victories.
- Alexin and Van der Werff finish their career with a 21-9 record, the highest season record as a pair in CU history.
- The two Buffs are both tied at No. 6 in most doubles wins in a season individually at 22.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Raq Cabellero Chica / 0 (83/-) [TCU]
66
40
#2 Singles Match
123
Yu-Chin Tsai / 0 [TCU]
72UF
51UF
#3 Singles Match
123
Cristi Ramos Sierra / 0 [TCU]
35UF
64UF
#4 Singles Match
12
Victo Gomez O'Hayon / 0 [TCU]
67
35
#5 Singles Match
123
Jennifer Jackson / 0 [TCU]
73UF
63UF
#6 Singles Match
12
Cayetana Gay / 0 [TCU]
66
21
Order of Finish:
1,6,4
Players Mentioned
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