Tag: 2015

CU Buffs Football Attendance Up in 2015

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The hard cold facts about college football are that every Saturday half the teams are losers. And the CU Buffs are doing their best to make their opponents feel good about themselves on the weekends.

Over the past decade the abysmal win-loss record of the CU Buffs football team has given fans a reason to find other things to do on Saturday afternoons than support the black and gold.

The problems began over a decade ago. The Buffs finished the 2004 and 2005 seasons with 7-5 records. In 2004 they were 4-4 in the Big 12 and in 2005 they were 5-3. Oklahoma beat them 42-3 in the 2004 Big 12 Championships and Texas thumped them 70-3 the following year.

Many viewed these drubbings in the championships as a sign that CU was not capable of participating in the D1 football race to see which program could spend the most money. The CU administration viewed the losses differently. They used them as justification for hiring a new coach.

In retrospect, those days of getting slaughtered in the Big 12 championships were the good old days. The Buffs football team has not had a winning season since 2005.

In 2011, dollar signs flashed in front of the CU administrators and CU jumped from the Big 12 to the PAC-12 conference. Unfortunately the Buffs found out the PAC-12 also had teams that knew how to play football.

Since 2011, the Buffs have had five conference wins – three on the road and two at home. Details follow:

Year Conference Record Comments
2011 2-7 conference record Home win over Arizona and a road win against Utah.
2012 1-8 conference record Road win over Washington State.
2013 1-8 conference record Home win over California.
2014 0-9 conference record Ugh!
2015 1-8 conference record 17-13 squeaker in Corvallis

Unfortunately, the Buffs conference home attendance has paralleled the number of wins on the field.

2011
The Buffs were 1-4 at home in conference play.
• 9/10 49,532 California
• 10/1 51,928 Washington State
• 10/22 52,123 Oregon
• 11/4 50,083 Southern California
• 11/22 48,111 Arizona.
Average conference home attendance 50,355.

2012
The Buffs were 0-5 at home in conference play.
• 9/29 46,893 UCLA
• 10/11 45,161 Arizona State
• 10/27 44,138 Stanford
• 11/17 43,148 Washington
• 11/23 46,052 Utah.
Average conference home attendance 45,078.

2013
The Buffs were 1-3 at home in conference play.
• 10/5 45,944 Oregon
• 10/26 38,679 Arizona
• 11/16 38,252 California
• 11/23 36,005 Southern California.
Average conference home attendance 39,720.

2014
The Buffs were 0-5 at home in conference play.
• 9/13 38,547 Arizona State
• 10/04 36,415 Oregon State
• 10/24 37,442 UCLA
• 11/1 35,633 Washington
• 11/29 39,155 Utah
Fewer than 40,000 people attended every home game and average conference home attendance was 37,438.

2015
The Buffs were 0-5 at home in conference play.
10/3 46,222 Oregon
10/17 39,666 Arizona
10/31 51,508 UCLA
11/13 37,905 USC
11/28 45,823 Utah
The downward trend in attendance has been reversed. Average home attendance for the 2015 home conference games was 42,225 and Buffs fans were usually treated to a good show. Even though they were 0-5, they lost the five home games by a total of only 37 points.

Buff fans have to be the most loyal in the country. Despite going 2-22 at home since joining the PAC-12, they still keep showing up. Here’s to a better 2016! The CU Athletic Department needs fans in the seats to provide better funding for the Olympic sports.

Serena Still the Most Dominant Player in Women’s Tennis

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Bummer! Serena Lost!

After being the most dominant player in women’s tennis for the past decade, it is disappointing that Serena Williams was not able to cap off 2015 with a calendar Grand Slam.

At the same time the fairy tale finish of Italian finalists Roberta Vinci and Flavia Pennetta gives hope to underdogs everywhere. They demonstrated that even against the most staggering odds, it is possible for unseeded and lower ranked players to win matches they are “supposed” to lose.

Day-in and day-out Serena Williams has been the player to beat at the U.S. Open since her first match there in 1998. Her win-loss record in the tourney is 84-10; she has won the championship six times, and has been the runner-up on two occasions.  Even though Serena has dominated the U.S. Open, she has raised the bar for how the sport should be played and she has made her competitors better players.

Overall, the American women were a force to be reckoned with. In addition to Serena’s strong showing her sister, Venus, reached the quarters while Madison Keys and Varvara Lepchenko were ousted in the 16s.

American Women 1st Rd 0-1 2nd Rd 1-1 3rd Rd 2-1 16s 3-1 Qrtrs 4-1 Semis 5-1 Finals
Serena Williams X
Bethanie Mattek-Sands X
Coco Vandeweghe X
Sloane Stephens X
Madison Keys X
Irina Falconi X
Samantha Crawford X
Venus Williams X
Madison Brengle X
Anna Tatishvili X
Lauren Davis X
Vania King X
Sofia Kenin X
Alison Riske X
Jessica Pegula X
Nicole Gibbs X
Louise Chirico X
Christina McHale X
Jamie Loeb X
Varvara Lepchenko X
Shelby Rogers X
Sachia Vickery X
TOTAL W-L 13-9 7-6 4-3 2-2 1-1 0-1

Combined, the 22 American women had a solid 27-22 win-loss record.

It is exciting to see promising Americans working their way through the ranks as top junior players. Over the next three months they will have a chance to hone their skills in China and neighboring countries in hopes that some day they can fill the void that will be left when the Williams sisters retire.

Next stop! Australian Open January 18, 2016

Changing of the Guard in Women’s Tennis

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On Saturday, Serena Williams captured her 6th Wimbledon title and her 21st Grand Slam event with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Garbiñe Muguruza. By winning her 3rd Grand Slam event of the year Williams is positioned to be the first woman since Steffi Graf (1988) to win a calendar-year Grand Slam if she captures the U.S. Open in September.

Finalist Garbiñe Muguruza joins Eugenie Bouchard, Belinda Bencic, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova, and Simona Halep as the young women who are part of the changing of the guard in women’s tennis. At the moment Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens, and Coco Vandeweghe are the leaders of the pack of American women who have flirted with being in this group of elite players.Changing of the Guard in Women's Tennis

Collectively the 16 American women were 24-15 at the 2015 Wimbledon. The best showing was by the Williams sisters, Vandeweghe, and Keys who all made it to the round of 16. Venus was the only player to lose in the 16s as she bowed out to Serena.

On a positive note, three American women reached the Wimbledon quarters. The last time this happened was in 2004 when Serena, Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati reached the round of eight. Unfortunately, Keys lost in three sets to Radwanska, while Vandeweghe suffered a similar fate at the hands of Maria Sharapova.

American Women World Ranking 6/29 1st Rd 0-1 2nd Rd 1-1 3rd Rd 2-1 16s 3-1 Qrtrs 4-1 Semis 5-1 Finals
Serena Williams 1 X
Madison Brengle 36 X
Venus Williams 16 X
Bethanie Mattek-Sands 158 X
Nicole Gibbs 103 X
Shelby Rogers 47 X
Irina Falconi 50 X
Coco Vandeweghe 51 X
Edina Gallovits-Hall 53 X
Sloane Stephens 58 X
Lauren Davis 60 X
Alison Riske 63 X
Varvara Lepchenko 40 X
Christina McHale 86 X
Sachia Vickery 98 X
Madison Keys 21 X
TOTAL W-L 8-8 6-2 4-2 3-1 1-2 1-0 1-0

Congratulations to Serena on her 21st Grand Slam title and to the young women who are part of the changing of the guard!

Another Weak Performance by American Men at Wimbledon

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Only one of the seven American men made it to the second week of the Championships at Wimbledon. The top performer for the Americans was Denis Kudla, a Ukranian who moved to the U.S. when he was a youngster.

Kudla entered the tournament ranked 105th in the world. He won three matches before losing in the round of 16.

The storyline hasn’t changed for the American men and it won’t in the near-term. The American men are excellent players, but they are not among the elite players in the world.

The top ranked American, #17 John Isner, won two rounds before losing to Marin Cilic in another excruciating five set match. Isner’s big serve isn’t enough to make him a Grand Slam champion.

American Men World Ranking 6/29 First Round Loss Second Round Loss Round of 32 Round of 16
John Isner 17th X
Denis Kudla 105th X
Donald Young 58th X
Steve Johnson 52nd X
Tim Smyczek 77th X
Jack Sock 31st X
Sam Querrey 36th X

Combined the American men were 7-7.

While the short-term outlook for the American men is dim, it should be noted that all eight junior boys won their first round matches in the Junior Championships. There may be a light at the end of the tunnel for the American men if the current juniors can make the transition to pro game in the next couple of years.

Seven Outfits for Serena

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Several years ago Serena Williams was featured in a 30-second video for the WTA’s ad campaign, Strong is Beautiful. In the ad she stated, “Before every slam I pick out seven outfits. SEVEN – one for every match I need to win. I wouldn’t pick seven outfits if I didn’t plan on wearing them all.”

For the sixth time Willams wore all 7 outfits at the Australian Open. And for a change, the American women had an exceptional AO.

Sixteen American women entered the tournament. Combined, they won 30 matches while losing 15. Seven Outfits for Serena

Grace Min, Alison Riske, Sloane Stephens, and Taylor Townsend bowed out in the first round. At one point Stephens and Townsend were thought to be the replacements for the Williams sisters as America’s top players. That certainly wasn’t the case this tournament.

Twelve American women advanced to the second round.

Nicole Gibbs, Anna Tatishvili, Irina Falconi, Lauren Davis, and Christina McHale lost in the second round. It should be noted that Tatishvili changed her country of representation from Georgia to the United States in April 2014.

Three of the seven Americans who advanced to the third round were ousted: Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Varvara Lepchenko, and Coco Vandeweghe.

Four American women remained in the draw as play began in the round of 16.

Madison Brengle lost in the round of 16s and Venus Williams was defeated in the quarterfinals.

Up and comer Madison Keys was defeated by Williams in the semifinals, while Russians Maria Sharapova and Ekaterina Makarova battled it out in the other half of the draw.

Williams defeated Sharapova 6-3, 7-6 in the finals. The loss made Sharapova 2-17 lifetime against the 2015 champion.

The win at this year’s AO gave Williams 19 Grand Slam victories, 1 more than Chris Evert and Martina Navritilova. Next on the list is Steffi Graf, with her Open-era record of 22 major titles and Margaret Court, the victor in 24 Grand Slam singles events.

Congratulations to Serena Williams for getting to wash her seven outfits on the way to another title!

American Juniors Have Mediocre Outing at 2015 Australian Open Juniors

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The nine American juniors who played the 2015 Australian Open juniors had limited success.

Raveena Kingsley (3-1) advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to Katie Swan. Swan actually lives in Wichita Kansas, but represents Great Britain.

Kingsley was joined by Jessica Ho (1-1) and Olivia Hauger (1-1), who won a round before losing. In 2014 Hauger (3-1) was a quarterfinalist.

Raquel Pedraza (0-1) and Mia Horvit (0-1) both dropped their first round matches.

The boys had similar results. Taylor Harry Fritz (3-1), the number three seed was upset in the quarterfinals.

Sameer Kumar (2-1), won two matches and William Blumberg (1-1) lost in the second round.

Michael Mmoh (0-1) lost in the first round. Last year Mmoh was 1-1.

Overall, the boys were 6-4 and the girls were 5-5.

Here’s to a larger contingency of players and a stronger showing at the French Open in June.