Colorado
Air Force
CU Sweeps Singles To Top Air Force 6-1
January 17, 2016 | Tennis
BOULDER - It is never easy trailing 1-0 after doubles competition in college tennis. But you would never know that after Colorado's dominating 6-1 victory over Air Force on Sunday in Boulder to open the spring season. The Buffaloes dropped two of the three doubles matches, but responded by sweeping all six singles matches in straight sets.
"It was obviously an adverse situation early in the season so it was good to see how they responded," head coach Nicole Kenneally said as she begins her 17th season in Boulder. "I really like how all of our six positions came out and fought hard from the first point to the last point."
Doubles actually started great for CU as Nuria Ormeño Ruiz and Jeannez Daniel cruised to a 6-2 victory at the No. 1 position. The duo broke a 2-2 tie, taking the final four games of the set.
However, Air Force came back to win 6-3 at No. 2 doubles and 6-3 at No. 3.
Trailing 1-0, the Buffaloes would have to win four of the six singles matches to win the overall match as a team. They made it look easy.
Ormeño Ruiz breezed to a 6-3, 6-1 victory at the top position over Mary Meyers. She broke Meyers four times in the first set as both players struggled to hold serve, but held off Meyers every time she served in the second set and took a pair of Meyers' serving games for the 6-1 win.
Freshman Annabelle Andrinopoulos, playing her first collegiate dual match, won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 singles over Chloe Forlini. Her big serve was nearly impossible to stop as she was broken just once in two sets.
Daniel, who worked so well with Ormeño Ruiz in doubles, got off to a slow start in her first dual match with Colorado. The UTEP transfer was broken twice in the first three games she served, trailing 3-2 in the first set. She battled back to serve with a chance to win the set up 6-5, but was broken again to force a tiebreaker in the first set. The sophomore prevailed 7-3 in the tiebreaker and carried that momentum to a 2-0 lead in the second as she went on to a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Elizabeth Barnickel. Her win put the Buffs up 3-1 overall in the match.
Sophomore Kyra Wojcik had the most dominating match of the day for CU at No. 4 singles. She won 6-1, 6-1 over Lily Forlini despite failing to hold serve in the first game of the first set. She recovered to win the final six games of the first and again breezed through the second.
"I just never let her get back into the games," Wojcik said of her resiliency. "I just always kept pressing on her and making sure that she wouldn't get back in the set. I just wanted to get done as quickly as possible and get the team win."
Her victory also clinched the team win for CU, the first clinching win of Wojcik's career. "It felt really good. I didn't even realize it was the first time I'd clinched until I actually did it and it just felt really good to lead my team to a win."
CU's lone senior Alex Aiello battled through two tough sets to win 7-5, 7-5 against Jocelle Rudico. Aiello had to come back in both sets. She was down a break at 3-1 in the first and trailed 5-3 in the second before winning the final four games.
Junior Vitaliya Alkhovik also fought to a tough victory, winning 6-4, 7-5 against Elisa Nelson at No. 6 singles.
Kenneally was impressed with her newcomers on Sunday.
"Belle coming out in singles and playing her first college match and winning it with authority was great," Kenneally said. "Nez, playing in her first live match for Colorado was solid in doubles and it didn't go as easily as she'd like in singles, but she hung with it and found a way. That's how you win tennis matches, especially in college. She definitely put her mind to it and did a great job there. [Brigitte Beck] started down in No. 3 doubles and they lost a 6-4 match, but the more opportunities she has to get in there and earn those opportunities, the more of a comfort level is going to come with that."
CU will hit the road next weekend with two matches in Albuquerque, N.M. The Buffs will play at No. 63 New Mexico on Friday evening and will face UTEP on Sunday.
Colorado 6, Air Force 1
Jan 17, 2016 at Boulder, Colo. (Rocky Mountain Tennis Center)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Ormeno Ruiz, Nuria (COLO) def. Meyers, Mary (AFA) 6-3, 6-1 |
| 2. Andrinopoulos, A. (COLO) def. Forlini, Chloe (AFA) 6-2, 6-2 |
| 3. Daniel, Jeannez (COLO) def. Barnickel, Elizabeth (AFA) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 |
| 4. Wojcik, Kyra (COLO) def. Forlini, Lily (AFA) 6-1, 6-1 |
| 5. Aiello, Alex (COLO) def. Rudico, Jocelle (AFA) 7-5, 7-5 |
| 6. Alkhovik, Vitaliya (COLO) def. Nelson, Elisa (AFA) 6-4, 7-5 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Ormeno Ruiz, Nuria/Daniel, Jeannez (COLO) def. Meyers, Mary/Barnickel, Elizabeth (AFA) 6-2 |
| 2. Forlini, Chloe/Rudico, Jocelle (AFA) def. Andrinopoulos, A./Wojcik, Kyra (COLO) 6-3 |
| 3. Forlini, Lily/Nelson, Elisa (AFA) def. Aiello, Alex/Beck, Brigitte (COLO) 6-4 |
| Match Notes |
| Air Force 0-1 |
| Colorado 1-0 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,2,3,4,5,6) |
| T-3:24 A-86 |
