It is an understatement to say that the move to the PAC-12 has been a challenge for the CU Lady Buffs Tennis team. The PAC-12 is arguably the toughest tennis conference in the U.S.
This past season the Lady Buffs defeated only Washington State, but lost 4-3 heart breakers to Oregon and Utah. With a little luck and a healthy team, CU would have won both matches.
In the Championship Draw of the PAC-12 tournament the Lady Buffs played competitive matches:
• (First Round) Julyette Steur lost a tough match to Krista Hardebeck of Stanford 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
• (First Round) Tina Bokhua fell to Zoe Scandalis of USC in the first round, 6-3, 7-5. Scandalis made it to the semifinals.
• (First Round Doubles) Julyette Steur and Ashley Tiefel bowed out to Giuliana Olmos and Zoe Scandalis of USC 8-3.
In the Invitational Singles Bracket the Lady Buffs got on the scoreboard:
• (First round)Ashley Tiefel was soundly defeated Elena Najera-Salas, Utah, 6-3, 6-1.
• (First round) Kyra Wojcik Colorado was edged by Zoe Katz, USC, 6-3, 7-5.
• (First round) Alex Aiello upset 8th seed Kristin Wiley, UCLA, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.
• (Second round) Aiello defeated Alexia Petrovic, Utah, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
• (Quarterfinals) Aiello lost decisively to #2 seed, Meredith Xepoleas, USC, 6-0, 6-2. Xepoleas went on to win the tournament.
In this bracket the Lady Buffs won a total of two matches, while losing three.
The Lady Buffs also fared well in the Invitational Doubles Bracket:
• (First Round) Alex Aiello and Nuria Ormeno-Ruiz edged Krista Hardebeck and Paulette Wolak, Stanford, 8-6.
• (First Round) Tina Bokhua and Kyra Wojcik beat Gussie O’Sullivan and Ebony Panoho, ASU, 8-4.
• (Quarterfinals) Aiello and Ormeno-Ruiz beat Alexandra Osborne and Leighann Sahagun, ASU, 8-5.
• (Quarterfinals) Bokhua and Wojcik lost to Jena Cheng and Sarah Richter, Utah, 8-5.
• (Semifinals) Aiello and Ormeno-Ruiz lost to Capucine Gregoire and Riko Shimizu, Washington, 8-6.
In this bracket the Lady Buffs won a total of three matches, while losing two.
Hopefully this is a sign of more wins for Lady Buffs Tennis in the upcoming seasons.