Buffs Sweep Cyclones in Conference Opener

Friday, February 27

Ames, IA

3 p.m.

Colorado

Iowa State

February 27, 2026 | Tennis

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Colorado finishes its first Big 12 match of the season on top.

By: Teagan Schreiber, Athletic Communications Student Assistant

AMES, Iowa – The No. 74 Colorado Buffaloes tennis team captured its sixth-straight dual win to begin conference play, defeating Iowa State in a 4-0 sweep.

Colorado improved to 9-2 overall and 1-0 in Big 12 play while Iowa State fell to 2-5 overall and 0-1 in conference matches.

"I sound like a broken record, but our group is doing such a great job of competing and finding a way to get the job done," says head coach Anthony Pham. "Iowa State is a very good team, and the match was a lot closer than the final score."

Clinching the doubles point in the first two matches, the Buffs gave themselves a solid ground to find three more wins in singles to take the match.

One of those singles victories is attributed to Aya El Sayed, finding an upset over her 64^th-ranked opponent at the top spot.

Alongside El Sayed, Colorado found two more wins at the No. 4 and 5 positions.

Lera Alexin opened play with her straight victory at five, and Lani Brotman closed the night out with her third set win at No. 4.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Starting the evening strong in doubles competition, Alexin and Rixt van der Werff captured the first victory on court two, downing Julia Camblor and Gabriella Kellner, 6-1, to give the Buffs an early advantage.

Following at the top spot, El Sayed and Pia Rebec also notched a 6-1, downing Mari Paz Alberto Vilar and Stanislava Shulzhenko, taking the doubles victory for the Buffs to lead into singles.

Iowa State's No. 3 singles Ashlee Narker and Valeska San Martin Ramirez led 5-2 over Brotman and Anya Nelson when the doubles point was clinched.

Beginning singles competition, Alexin took the first win on No. 5 in a quick straight-set victory. Alexin downed Martin Ramirez, 6-0, 6-1, to bring the team score to 2-0.

Following at the top spot, El Sayed downed ranked opponent No. 64 Alberto Vilar. El Sayed took the second set tiebreaker, downing Vilar 6-2, 7-6 (3) with a 3-game tiebreak.

To finish the day, Brotman came back in her third set against Shulzhenko at No. 4. Brotman took the first set, 6-3, then fell in the second, 2-6, to tie the match. The freshman found a finale in the third, taking the set 6-4, and finalizing the team score at 4-0.

At No. 2 singles, Van der Werff battled the entire day. She came up just short in the first set against Narker, losing 7-6 (2) in a tiebreaker. In the second set she was in the midst of a comeback after taking a 6-5 lead when the match was clinched.

Rebec found success early at No. 3 singles across from Camblor. She took the first set 6-3 before dropping the second 6-4. Much like Van der Werff, she had just taken the lead when the match was clinched, for her at 4-3 in the final set.

The last match at No. 6 singles saw Nelson take the opening set 6-4 against Vargas. In the following set Vargas won 6-0 and led 2-1 when the match was clinched.

"I'm proud of our team for continuing to step up to meet every challenge that is thrown at them," Pham said. "We will look to get a good practice in tomorrow and get ready for a very good Kansas team on Sunday."

UP NEXT
Conference play will continue for the Buffs this weekend, as the team heads to Lawrence, Kansas, to face the Jayhawks. Competition will begin at 1 p.m. (MT) at the Jayhawk Tennis Center. More information and live results can be found @cubuffstennis.

RESULTS
Doubles

Aya El Sayed/Pia Rebec (CU) def. Mari Paz Alberto Vilar/Stanislava Shulzhenko (ISU), 6-1
Lera Alexin/Rixt van der Werff (CU) def. Julia Camblor/Gabriella Kellner (ISU), 6-1
Lani Brotman/Anya Nelson (CU) vs. Ashlee Narker/Valeska San Martin Ramirez (ISU), 2-5, unf.

Order of finish: 2, 1
Singles

Aya El Sayed (CU) def. No. 64 Mari Paz Alberto Vilar (ISU), 6-2, 7-6 (3)
Rixt van der Werff (CU) vs. Ashlee Narker (ISU), 6-7 (2), 6-5, unf.
Pia Rebec (CU) vs. Julia Camblor (ISU), 6-3, 4-6, 4-3, unf.
Lani Brotman (CU) def. Stanislava Shulzhenko (ISU), 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
Lera Alexin (CU) def. Valeska San Martin Ramirez (ISU), 6-0, 6-1
Anya Nelson (CU) vs. Valentina Vargas (ISU), 6-4, 0-6, 1-2, unf.

Order of finish: 5, 1, 4

NOTES

The Buffs now hold 30 wins against the Cyclones, extending their dual win streak this season to six.
Alexin and van der Werff continue undefeated this dual season, picking up their sixth win of 2026 and 17^th of their career.
El Sayed and Rebec capture their third win at the top spot this season, and 14^th at No. 1 as a pair.
Alexin extends her singles win streak to six victories.
In her fifth season, El Sayed now has 94 total singles and doubles victories.