Colorado University Athletics
Sunday, March 1
Lawrence, KS
1 p.m.
Colorado
0
at
4
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Kansas
Colorado Falls to Kansas
March 01, 2026 | Tennis
The Buffs drop their first conference match of the season.
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Following a dominant win over Iowa State on Friday, the No. 74 Colorado Buffaloes tennis team fell short in its second Big 12 matchup of the season against the Kansas Jayhawks, 4-0, Sunday afternoon at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.
Colorado now holds a 9-3 record this season and split a 1-1 record for Big 12 play, while Kansas finds its first conference win to improve to 5-6 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12.
"Tough result for our team today," said head coach Anthony Pham, "I thought we were a little passive today in doubles today and ultimately that was the difference in us dropping the doubles point."
Although the Jayhawks picked up the doubles point, the Buffs were still first on the board at the No. 2 position with a victory from Lera Alexin and Rixt van der Werff.
In the first loss for the Buffs in doubles play, Lani Brotman and Anya Nelson brought the match to a 5-5 tie, and fell just short in the last two games.
Although singles ended in three wins for the Jayhawks, Colorado still found victories in three sets across the board.
Brotman and Nelson both secured their first sets, while Van der Werff brought her match to a third set with a 7-5 second set win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Despite losing the doubles point, the Buffs were still first on the board with a victory. At No. 2, Alexin and Van der Werff downed Heike Janse Van Vuuren and Meg McCarty. The pair downed the Jayhawks, 6-4, extending their undefeated dual record to 7-0.
Following at No. 3, Brotman and Nelson kept a close match facing Meriem Ben Ezzedine and Kinley VanPelt. Bringing the score to 5-5, the pair fell just short, losing to Ezzedine and VanPelt, 7-5.
With a split finish, the doubles point came down to the top spot. Aya El Sayed and Pia Rebec paired up against Yerkezhan Arystanbekova and Anna Putilina, falling short with a 6-4 finish, leading the Jayhawks 1-0 into singles.
The first win in singles play came at the top spot, with Van Vuuren downing El Sayed in two 6-3 sets, making the team score 2-0 in favor of Kansas.
At No. 3, Rebec followed facing Ezzedine, falling in two sets to the Jayhawk, 6-4, 6-3.
With the team score stretched to 3-0, Alexin matched up against Nahyeong Cho, finding a fight in the first set, but falling in a close 7-5 finish. In the second, Alexin fell 6-3, giving Kansas the final match to secure a 4-0 victory.
At No. 2, van der Werff found a second set victory against Arystanbekova, following a 6-0 deficit in the first set. Despite the match going unfinished, the Buff trailed just 1-0 in the third.
Brotman and Nelson both found first set victories in their unfinished matches as well.
Brotman led McCarty 7-5 heading into the second, but fell short 6-3, and had a close 1-0 start in the third before the match was clinched.
Nelson had a dominant 6-2 first set against Putilina, before flipping the result in the second to give the Jayhawk a 6-2 set of her own. Kansas led just 3-0 in the third before going unfinished.
"The team fought really hard across the board in singles but couldn't quite the job done today," said Pham. "We've been on the road for the last month and look forward to playing in front of our home fans next weekend in Boulder."
UP NEXT
Colorado will head back to the Front Range for its conference home opening weekend beginning on March 6th. The Buffs will face Kansas State on Friday at 2 p.m. (MT), and Oklahoma State at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. Both matches will be played at the Meadows Club, and more information and live results can be found @cubuffstennis.
RESULTS
Doubles
Singles
NOTES
Colorado now holds a 9-3 record this season and split a 1-1 record for Big 12 play, while Kansas finds its first conference win to improve to 5-6 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12.
"Tough result for our team today," said head coach Anthony Pham, "I thought we were a little passive today in doubles today and ultimately that was the difference in us dropping the doubles point."
Although the Jayhawks picked up the doubles point, the Buffs were still first on the board at the No. 2 position with a victory from Lera Alexin and Rixt van der Werff.
In the first loss for the Buffs in doubles play, Lani Brotman and Anya Nelson brought the match to a 5-5 tie, and fell just short in the last two games.
Although singles ended in three wins for the Jayhawks, Colorado still found victories in three sets across the board.
Brotman and Nelson both secured their first sets, while Van der Werff brought her match to a third set with a 7-5 second set win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Despite losing the doubles point, the Buffs were still first on the board with a victory. At No. 2, Alexin and Van der Werff downed Heike Janse Van Vuuren and Meg McCarty. The pair downed the Jayhawks, 6-4, extending their undefeated dual record to 7-0.
Following at No. 3, Brotman and Nelson kept a close match facing Meriem Ben Ezzedine and Kinley VanPelt. Bringing the score to 5-5, the pair fell just short, losing to Ezzedine and VanPelt, 7-5.
With a split finish, the doubles point came down to the top spot. Aya El Sayed and Pia Rebec paired up against Yerkezhan Arystanbekova and Anna Putilina, falling short with a 6-4 finish, leading the Jayhawks 1-0 into singles.
The first win in singles play came at the top spot, with Van Vuuren downing El Sayed in two 6-3 sets, making the team score 2-0 in favor of Kansas.
At No. 3, Rebec followed facing Ezzedine, falling in two sets to the Jayhawk, 6-4, 6-3.
With the team score stretched to 3-0, Alexin matched up against Nahyeong Cho, finding a fight in the first set, but falling in a close 7-5 finish. In the second, Alexin fell 6-3, giving Kansas the final match to secure a 4-0 victory.
At No. 2, van der Werff found a second set victory against Arystanbekova, following a 6-0 deficit in the first set. Despite the match going unfinished, the Buff trailed just 1-0 in the third.
Brotman and Nelson both found first set victories in their unfinished matches as well.
Brotman led McCarty 7-5 heading into the second, but fell short 6-3, and had a close 1-0 start in the third before the match was clinched.
Nelson had a dominant 6-2 first set against Putilina, before flipping the result in the second to give the Jayhawk a 6-2 set of her own. Kansas led just 3-0 in the third before going unfinished.
"The team fought really hard across the board in singles but couldn't quite the job done today," said Pham. "We've been on the road for the last month and look forward to playing in front of our home fans next weekend in Boulder."
UP NEXT
Colorado will head back to the Front Range for its conference home opening weekend beginning on March 6th. The Buffs will face Kansas State on Friday at 2 p.m. (MT), and Oklahoma State at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. Both matches will be played at the Meadows Club, and more information and live results can be found @cubuffstennis.
RESULTS
Doubles
- Yerkezhan Arystanbekova/Anna Putilina (KU) def. Aya El Sayed/Pia Rebec (CU), 6-4
- Lera Alexin/Rixt van der Werff (CU) def. Heike Janse Van Vuuren/Meg McCarty (KU), 6-4
- Meriem Ben Ezzedine/Kinley VanPelt (KU) def. Lani Brotman/Anya Nelson (CU), 7-5
Singles
- Heike Janse Van Vuuren (KU) def. Aya El Sayed (CU), 6-3, 6-3
- Yerkezhan Arystanbekova (KU) vs. Rixt van der Werff (CU), 6-0, 5-7, 1-0, unf.
- Meriem Ben Ezzedine (KU) def. Pia Rebec (CU), 6-4, 6-3
- Meg McCarty (KU) vs. Lani Brotman (CU), 5-7, 6-3, 1-0, unf.
- Nahyeong Cho (KU) def. Lera Alexin (CU), 7-5, 6-3
- Anna Putilina (KU) vs. Anya Nelson (CU), 2-6, 6-2, 3-0, unf.
NOTES
- Alexin and van der Werff continue undefeated this dual season, picking up their seventh win of 2026 and 18th of their career.
- El Sayed and Rebec capture their third win at the top spot this weekend, and 14th at No. 1 as a pair.
- In her fifth season, El Sayed now has 94 total singles and doubles victories.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3,1
#1 Singles Match
12
33
He Janse van Vuuren / 0 [KAN]
66
#2 Singles Match
1234
071UF
Yerke Arystanbekova / 0 [KAN]
651UF
#3 Singles Match
12
43
Meriem Ben Ezzedine / 0 [KAN]
66
#4 Singles Match
1234
730UF
Meg McCarty / 0 [KAN]
561UF
#5 Singles Match
12
53
Nahyeong Cho / 0 [KAN]
76
#6 Singles Match
1234
620UF
Anna Putilina / 0 [KAN]
263UF
Order of Finish:
1,3,5
Players Mentioned
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
Mark Johnson sits down with Tennis Head Coach Anthony Pham to talk about the 2026 Spring Season
Friday, January 16
Women's Tennis: Senior Day | Apr 13, 2025
Sunday, April 13
@cubuffstennis vs Arizona State SENIOR DAY #gobuffs
Monday, April 15
@cubuffstennis vs Arizona #gobuffs
Saturday, April 13