Sunday, November 8
San Diego, Calif.
Colorado
vs
Day 3
November 08, 2026 | Tennis
Duo Wins Eighth Straight As Rest Of Buffs Close Fall With Six Wins In San Diego
SAN DIEGO – The Colorado Buffaloes tennis team closed the San Diego State Invitational with six victories Sunday at the Aztec Tennis Complex, sweeping all three doubles matches for the second time in three days and winning three of four completed singles matches to wrap up the fall season.
Lera Alexin and Ema Bubalo capped an unbeaten weekend with the top-flight doubles title, dispatching Colorado State's Sorcha Caves and Annika Planinsek 6-1 in the final for their eighth consecutive doubles win heading into the NCAA Individual Championships later this month. Bubalo also reached the top-flight singles final before falling to Stanford's Caroline Driscoll, 6-2, 6-3.
"Overall a good day for our Buffs," CU Head Coach Anthony Pham said. "We made some significant progress the last couple of days, and Erick (Garcia, assistant coach) and I were pleased to see us play with such great energy and purpose today."
Pia Rebec, who dropped her opening singles match to Driscoll on Friday, closed the tournament with a 6-3, 6-4 win over CSU's Leyla Tozin in the backdraw final, while Alexin completed a two-match run through her consolation draw with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Denver's Ruby Hansen. Willow Gretsch earned her first singles win of the weekend, outlasting DU's Remy Nguyen 6-4, 7-6 (2).
The Buffs finished the three-day event with 14 wins — seven in doubles and seven in singles — against Colorado State, Denver, UC San Diego, San Diego and Stanford opponents.
"This team has grown a lot since we started back in late August, but we also know there is much work to do ahead," Pham said. "We are eager to tackle the challenges ahead and prepare for our spring campaign."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles opened the day at 9 a.m. with Alexin and Bubalo meeting Caves and Planinsek, the CSU pair that defeated Rebec and Louise Ternstroem on Saturday, with the top-flight title on the line. Colorado took control from the first game and never let the Rams settle, racing through a 6-1 win to finish the weekend 3-0 in doubles.
A court over, Yukiko Ikedo, making her first appearance of the weekend, teamed with Rebec to rebound against UC San Diego's Neha Guru and Sonya Goldberg, the Triton duo that fell to Alexin and Bubalo a day earlier, pulling away for a 6-3 victory. Gretsch and Heidi Crncan completed the sweep in their final doubles match of the fall, overwhelming Denver's Yunfei Cai and Francesca Tye 6-1 — a measure of payback after Cai was part of the Pioneer pairing that edged Gretsch and Crncan at the Colorado Cup in October.
Singles play followed with Bubalo taking the court for the top-flight final against Driscoll, who had beaten Rebec on Friday. The Cardinal built an early advantage and closed the opening set 6-2, and though Bubalo pushed back in the second, Driscoll held on 6-3 to take the title. The runner-up finish capped a 2-1 singles weekend for the fourth-year Buff, who heads to Athens, Ga., with the doubles title in hand.
Rebec, after receiving a bye earlier in the backdraw, met Tozin in the consolation final. The Slovenia native controlled the first set 6-3, then held off the Ram down the stretch of a tighter second set to close out a 6-3, 6-4 win in her final match of the fall.
Alexin, who dropped a three-setter to UCSD's Cassie Blakey on Friday before routing CSU's Zaria McGinty on Saturday, kept rolling against Hansen. The Buff surrendered just two games in a 6-1, 6-1 victory, matching her scoreline from the day before and finishing the tournament with back-to-back lopsided singles wins.
Gretsch rounded out the day for Colorado in her round-robin match against Nguyen. The California native took a competitive opening set 6-4, then traded holds through a tight second before controlling the tiebreak, 7-2, to finish her homecoming weekend with a win. Crncan withdrew ahead of her scheduled singles match against San Diego's Anna Linn Moll.
UP NEXT
Alexin and Bubalo will represent Colorado at the NCAA Individual Championships in Athens, Ga., beginning Nov. 17. The remainder of the Buffs have concluded fall competition and will return to action when the dual-match season opens in January.
"Ema and Lera got tested this weekend in many different ways, and that will serve as excellent preparation for NCAAs," Pham said. "They are excited to test themselves against the best in the country and represent the Buffs on the national stage."
RESULTS
Doubles
Lera Alexin/Ema Bubalo (CU) def. Sorcha Caves/Annika Planinsek (CSU) 6-1 – Flight 1 final
Yukiko Ikedo/Pia Rebec (CU) def. Neha Guru/Sonya Goldberg (UCSD) 6-3
Willow Gretsch/Heidi Crncan (CU) def. Yunfei Cai/Francesca Tye (DU) 6-1
Singles
Caroline Driscoll (Stanford) def. Ema Bubalo (CU) 6-2, 6-3 – Flight 1 final
Pia Rebec (CU) def. Leyla Tozin (CSU) 6-3, 6-4 – Flight 1 backdraw final
Lera Alexin (CU) def. Ruby Hansen (DU) 6-1, 6-1
Willow Gretsch (CU) def. Remy Nguyen (DU) 6-4, 7-6 (2)
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Lera Alexin and Ema Bubalo capped an unbeaten weekend with the top-flight doubles title, dispatching Colorado State's Sorcha Caves and Annika Planinsek 6-1 in the final for their eighth consecutive doubles win heading into the NCAA Individual Championships later this month. Bubalo also reached the top-flight singles final before falling to Stanford's Caroline Driscoll, 6-2, 6-3.
"Overall a good day for our Buffs," CU Head Coach Anthony Pham said. "We made some significant progress the last couple of days, and Erick (Garcia, assistant coach) and I were pleased to see us play with such great energy and purpose today."
Pia Rebec, who dropped her opening singles match to Driscoll on Friday, closed the tournament with a 6-3, 6-4 win over CSU's Leyla Tozin in the backdraw final, while Alexin completed a two-match run through her consolation draw with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Denver's Ruby Hansen. Willow Gretsch earned her first singles win of the weekend, outlasting DU's Remy Nguyen 6-4, 7-6 (2).
The Buffs finished the three-day event with 14 wins — seven in doubles and seven in singles — against Colorado State, Denver, UC San Diego, San Diego and Stanford opponents.
"This team has grown a lot since we started back in late August, but we also know there is much work to do ahead," Pham said. "We are eager to tackle the challenges ahead and prepare for our spring campaign."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles opened the day at 9 a.m. with Alexin and Bubalo meeting Caves and Planinsek, the CSU pair that defeated Rebec and Louise Ternstroem on Saturday, with the top-flight title on the line. Colorado took control from the first game and never let the Rams settle, racing through a 6-1 win to finish the weekend 3-0 in doubles.
A court over, Yukiko Ikedo, making her first appearance of the weekend, teamed with Rebec to rebound against UC San Diego's Neha Guru and Sonya Goldberg, the Triton duo that fell to Alexin and Bubalo a day earlier, pulling away for a 6-3 victory. Gretsch and Heidi Crncan completed the sweep in their final doubles match of the fall, overwhelming Denver's Yunfei Cai and Francesca Tye 6-1 — a measure of payback after Cai was part of the Pioneer pairing that edged Gretsch and Crncan at the Colorado Cup in October.
Singles play followed with Bubalo taking the court for the top-flight final against Driscoll, who had beaten Rebec on Friday. The Cardinal built an early advantage and closed the opening set 6-2, and though Bubalo pushed back in the second, Driscoll held on 6-3 to take the title. The runner-up finish capped a 2-1 singles weekend for the fourth-year Buff, who heads to Athens, Ga., with the doubles title in hand.
Rebec, after receiving a bye earlier in the backdraw, met Tozin in the consolation final. The Slovenia native controlled the first set 6-3, then held off the Ram down the stretch of a tighter second set to close out a 6-3, 6-4 win in her final match of the fall.
Alexin, who dropped a three-setter to UCSD's Cassie Blakey on Friday before routing CSU's Zaria McGinty on Saturday, kept rolling against Hansen. The Buff surrendered just two games in a 6-1, 6-1 victory, matching her scoreline from the day before and finishing the tournament with back-to-back lopsided singles wins.
Gretsch rounded out the day for Colorado in her round-robin match against Nguyen. The California native took a competitive opening set 6-4, then traded holds through a tight second before controlling the tiebreak, 7-2, to finish her homecoming weekend with a win. Crncan withdrew ahead of her scheduled singles match against San Diego's Anna Linn Moll.
UP NEXT
Alexin and Bubalo will represent Colorado at the NCAA Individual Championships in Athens, Ga., beginning Nov. 17. The remainder of the Buffs have concluded fall competition and will return to action when the dual-match season opens in January.
"Ema and Lera got tested this weekend in many different ways, and that will serve as excellent preparation for NCAAs," Pham said. "They are excited to test themselves against the best in the country and represent the Buffs on the national stage."
RESULTS
Doubles
Lera Alexin/Ema Bubalo (CU) def. Sorcha Caves/Annika Planinsek (CSU) 6-1 – Flight 1 final
Yukiko Ikedo/Pia Rebec (CU) def. Neha Guru/Sonya Goldberg (UCSD) 6-3
Willow Gretsch/Heidi Crncan (CU) def. Yunfei Cai/Francesca Tye (DU) 6-1
Singles
Caroline Driscoll (Stanford) def. Ema Bubalo (CU) 6-2, 6-3 – Flight 1 final
Pia Rebec (CU) def. Leyla Tozin (CSU) 6-3, 6-4 – Flight 1 backdraw final
Lera Alexin (CU) def. Ruby Hansen (DU) 6-1, 6-1
Willow Gretsch (CU) def. Remy Nguyen (DU) 6-4, 7-6 (2)
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Players Mentioned
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