SAN FRANCISCO - Colorado’s Lera Alexin and Ema Bubalo are one win away from the Battle in the Bay Classic doubles final after surviving a tight quarterfinal Friday at the California Tennis Club.
The Buffs pair knocked off USC’s Simone Kay and Kiara Zabkova, 8-7 (6), to move into Saturday’s semifinals. It came after Alexin and Bubalo had already opened the tournament with a win over Pepperdine’s third-seeded team, keeping their run alive through the second day of play.
“Doubles was an up-and-down affair today,” CU Head Coach Anthony Pham said. “We created a lot of opportunities early on but weren't able to capitalize. To Lera and Ema's credit, they competed hard and trusted themselves when in crucial moments and that ended up being the difference against a touch team from USC.”
Bubalo’s day wasn’t done after doubles. She stayed alive in singles by rallying past Purdue’s Nehir Dogan in the consolation round of 16, pulling out a 1-6, 7-6 (10), 1-0 (8) win after a marathon that turned on two separate tiebreakers.
Alexin also went the distance, but came up just short against Loyola Marymount’s Ada Piestrzynska, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 1-0 (7). That match stretched deep into the night, ending after 10 p.m. local time and roughly 12 hours after play began.
“Both singles matches were very tight and I thought we made a lot of good adjustments from yesterday,” Pham said. “We look forward to some more opportunities to get better tomorrow.”
The doubles quarterfinal was tight from the start and stayed that way all the way to 7-7 before Colorado edged the tiebreaker 8-6 to close it out. In singles, Bubalo dropped the first set to Dogan before taking the second-set tiebreaker 12-10 and then finishing the job 10-8 in the match tiebreaker. Alexin followed a similar script against Piestrzynska, rebounding after the opening set to force a deciding tiebreaker, but Piestrzynska took that one 10-7.
Alexin and Bubalo will play in the doubles semifinals Saturday at [TK] a.m. local time. Bubalo is set to face Loyola Marymount’s Yelyzaveta Chainykova in the consolation quarterfinals Saturday morning, while [TK - Alexin's Saturday singles status.] remains listed for Alexin.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Fans Stumbled Onto A Colorado Mystery Before Kickoff
Before kickoff in Lubbock, Texas Tech fans reportedly stumbled onto something that looked a lot more useful than a souvenir: a 25-page Colorado game plan playbook found at the Buffaloes team hotel. The document appeared authentic and, to outsiders watching the game unfold, it matched plays Colorado actually used on the field.
For a team already trying to steady itself, the timing could not have been worse. Colorado was beaten 29-7 by Texas Tech in a game defined by turnovers and interceptions, then headed into a bye week with a three-game losing streak hanging over it. Deion Sanders acknowledged the issues and opened up a quarterback competition, leaving the Buffaloes with plenty to sort out and a strange pregame mystery still hanging in the background. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Heads Into Bye Week With A Frustrating New Debate
Colorados trip to Texas Tech offered a little of everything except a complete performance, and that left the Buffaloes heading into the bye week with more questions than answers. Isaac Wilson took the start at quarterback and threw for a career-high 292 yards with a touchdown, but the offense never found enough rhythm to offset the three interceptions, while a defense that held Texas Tech to three first-half points and racked up 11 tackles for loss still watched the game slip away.
Special teams and penalties made the gap too wide to close, from missed field goals to a failed fake punt that short-circuited any chance at momentum. For a team that needed cleaner execution to build on its defensive work, the frustrating part is not just the loss itself but the debate it leaves behind as Colorado gets a week to sort out how to turn the offenses flashes into something more dependable. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Celebrity Sideline Moment Had Buffs Fans Reading One NBA Star
Colorados home game against Texas Tech brought a familiar mix of football and celebrity watching, with several high-profile guests taking in the scene from the sideline. Among the biggest names in the building were Nikola Jokic, DeMar DeRozan and Cam Johnson, and the attention around them quickly became part of the atmosphere as much as the matchup itself.
DeRozan was the one who seemed to embrace the moment most, engaging with fans and giving the sideline the kind of energy Buffaloes supporters have come to expect when a star rolls through Boulder. Jokic, by contrast, drew a different reaction, appearing more reserved and keeping his interactions with attendees to a minimum, a contrast that stood out during a season in which the celebrity turnout around Colorado games has already felt lighter than it has in past years. [Read more 🡒]