The Colorado Buffaloes made the most of singles play on Friday, piling up four wins against Montana State to close the opening day of Colorado Cup action at Denver Tennis Park.
Doubles set the tone early, and not in Colorado’s favor. Pia Rebec and Louise Ternstroem pushed their Bobcat opponents through long rallies before falling 6-4, while Heidi Crncan and Willow Gretsch were also on the wrong end of a tight battle. Once singles began, though, the Buffs flipped the script fast.
Rebec, back in singles for the first time since March, delivered the kind of reset Colorado needed. She didn’t give up a game in a straight-set sweep of her Montana State opponent, and head coach Anthony Pham made sure to note the significance of the performance.
"We played the way we expected them to play, with energy and purpose," head coach Anthony Pham said. "Happy for Pia. This is her first singles match in six months, so that's a good match for her."
Crncan and Ternstroem followed with matching straight-set victories of their own, turning Colorado’s afternoon into a steady run of control after the morning doubles results. Gretsch fought through a close match but came up short, and Yukiko Ikedo rounded out the day with a hard-earned three-set win to give the Buffs their fourth singles victory.
The day started with both teams spread across seven courts at the Denver Tennis Center, where Colorado was tested immediately in doubles. On the fifth court, Crncan and Gretsch traded blows with Lola House and Terezie Stverakova, but Montana State pulled away after the Buffs dropped the opening game and settled into a rhythm. Colorado kept points close and tried to cut down on errors, yet the Bobcats finished the job, 6-1.
Rebec and Ternstroem had a more competitive start against sisters Lola and Angel Bean. Ternstroem gave Colorado an early edge with strong work on serve receive, while Rebec held firm from the baseline and helped keep the match tight. The Buffs clawed back from a 5-1 deficit to make it 5-4, but Montana State held on in the deciding game.
Colorado’s response in singles was immediate. Rebec handled Lola Bean 6-0, 6-0, Crncan outlasted Stverakova 6-3, 6-3, and Ternstroem beat Angel Bean by the same scoreline to clinch the team result. Gretsch then went toe-to-toe with House before falling 6-3, 6-3.
Ikedo closed things out against Naomi Jin with a little more drama. She jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set and took it 6-3, then dropped the second set 6-4 before steadying herself in the third. With Colorado ahead 4-3 in the decider, she stayed in front the rest of the way and finished off the 6-4 win.
Colorado now turns to Saturday’s second day of Colorado Cup play, when it will face host Denver in two more doubles matches and five singles matches. Action begins at 9 a.m. MT, with updates available on cubuffs.com and @cubuffstennis on Instagram.
"Every day is an opportunity and tomorrow hopefully we can learn from some of the things that we didn't do well today and make those adjustments tomorrow," Pham said.
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