Tennis Hosts AFA & CSU Saturday
BOULDER – For the second weekend in as many weeks, the University of Colorado women’s tennis team will continue its non-conference home schedule, this time hosting Air Force and Colorado State on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center (Millennium Harvest House).
The Buffaloes will face the Falcons at 10 a.m., then later in the day at 4 p.m. to take on Colorado State.
The pair of home matches in the same day is the first time for a head coach Nicole Kenneally team in her 15 years at the helm of the program. CU has not played a pair of matches in the same day since the 1996-97 season under then-head coach Tom Russ, when the Buffs played the host Rainbow Warriors (W, 9-0) and Pacific (W, 4-2) in Hawaii.
On Saturday against the Air Force Academy, CU holds a 13-1 advantage all-time against its in-state foe. The Academy edged CU last year in Colorado Springs in the season opener, 4-3. AFA secured the doubles point, then took three of the six singles matches. The Buffaloes are 7-0 at home in the series.
Against the Rams, CU has dominated from day one holding a commanding 27-0 series lead with 15 of those victories coming at home. Last season, CU took a 6-1 victory.
Entering play this weekend, Alex Aiello and Nuria Ormeño Ruiz lead the team in wins with 12 and 11, respectively. Julyette Steur and Ashley Tiefel each have seven.
In doubles, the duo of Ormeño Ruiz and Winde Janssens have eight victories, followed by Steur and Tiefel with six. Alex Aiello and Carla Manzi Tenorio have five doubles wins.
CU enters its third year of play in the Pac-12 Conference, regarded as the best women’s tennis conference nationally. In the second week of the national Top-75 poll, the conference features eight of the 10 schools ranked. Defending champion Stanford is ranked at the top, followed by UCLA (No. 5), USC (No. 6), and California (No. 8) rounding out conference teams among the top 10. All four schools will visit Boulder in March.
CU takes to the road next week for the first time this spring season travelling to the Sunflower State against Big 12 Conference foes Kansas (Feb. 7) and No. 53 Kansas State (Feb. 8). It’s also a homecoming for CU junior Ashley Tiefel, who is from Leawood, Kan. (Blue Valley HS).