Article after the
NICE win.
Direct link -
https://cubuffs.com/news/2023/4/9/tennis-tops-no-16-washington-in-thrilling-comeback.aspx
"
BOULDER--It was a comeback for the ages. In one of the best tennis matches seen on CU's South Campus, the Colorado Buffaloes Tennis team defeated No. 16 Washington 4-3 on Easter Sunday here at the CU Tennis Complex.
Down 3-0, the Buffs needed extra sets in each of the four remaining singles matches to secure the win, which came on a thrilling 8-6 third set tiebreaker from
Antonia Balzert.
"I told the team, I'm at a loss for words," CU coach
Anthony Pham said. "The team just battled and wouldn't take no for an answer. This match finished just shy of four hours and it wasn't four hours due to rain delays or other things, it was a four-hour battle. This match could've been done in under two hours, we were down 3-0 and I couldn't be more proud of how we fought and battled and eventually pulled out a win."
After losing the doubles points, the Buffs quickly went down 3-0 with losses at No. 2 and No. 6 singles.
Aya El Sayed was also down a set at No. 4 singles but pushed it to a third set to keep the Buffs alive.
Meanwhile, Balzert and
Betina Tokac both won their first sets and lost their second sets about the same time that Mila Stankovec finished off her thriller at No. 3 to give the Buffs their first point and make it 3-1.
Shortly after, El Sayed completed her comeback and made it 3-2. Tokac pounced on her opponent at No. 5 singles and made a 6-0 statement in the third set to make it 3-3.
Balzert then needed every ounce of her energy to finish her match and pick up her 50th career singles victory. She had a match point at the end of her second set before falling and after opening 3-0 in the third set, it eventually went to a tiebreaker. After opening the tiebreaker 5-0, at 6-1 she lost five straight before winning the final two to take her set, match and the team victory with a 8-6 victory.
"It was so tiring," Balzert said. "She started hitting slices and didn't play my game. I had to stay patient, and I wouldn't say being patient is my strongest suit, but I did pretty good today staying in there and playing hard and believed in myself as much as I could. I could tell we were coming back, especially because the crowd was awesome. My team was cheering so hard and I felt the energy. I saw Betina win and I knew I was going to be the deciding match. I had a match ball in the second, match balls for and against me in the third, it was a tough ride."
The Buffs picked up the program's eighth win over a team ranked No. 16 or better and for just the second time in the past 16 seasons.
...
Up Next
The Buffs will travel to Arizona next week for the last Pac-12 regular season road trip of the season starting with No. 30 Arizona State on Friday April 14 at 2:30 MST. The following day the Buffs will travel across the state to take on No. 49 Arizona at 1:00 MST.
Results
No. 70 Colorado 4, No. 16 Washington 3
April 9, 2023
Boulder, Colo. (CU Tennis Complex)
Doubles
1. Hikaru Sato and Zehra Suko (UW) def.
Antonia Balzert and
Aya El Sayed (CU) 6-3
2.
Mila Stanojevic and
Elys Ventura (CU) vs. Jennifer Kerr and Astrid Olsen (WASH) 5-5, unfinished
3. Sarah-Maude Fortin and Erika Matsuda (UW) def.
Ellen Puzak and
Betina Tokac (CU) 6-2
Order of Finish: (3,1)
Singles
1.
Antonia Balzert (CU) def. No. 97 Hikaru Sato (UW) 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6)
2. Sarah-Maude Fortin (UW) def.
Elys Ventura (CU) 6-2, 6-2
3.
Mila Stanojevic (CU) def. Astrid Olsen (UW) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
4.
Aya El Sayed (CU) def. Jennifer Kerr (UW) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
5.
Betina Tokac (CU) def. Melissa Sakar (UW) 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-0
6. Erika Matsuda (UW) def.
Carri Hayes (CU) 6-0, 6-1
Order of Finish: (6,2,3,4,5,1*)
"
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
And, from coach Pham -
