Saturday, September 12
Milwaukee, Wis.
Colorado
vs
Day 2
Crncan, Ternstroem lead Buffs as Milwaukee Classic Nears Final Day
September 12, 2026 | Tennis
GLENDALE, Wis. – In a busy and sometimes hectic day of action, Heidi Crncan and Louise Ternstroem both won both of their singles matches and combined for a doubles win to lead the Colorado Buffaloes tennis team at the 50th Annual Milwaukee Classic at the Nicolet Tennis Center Saturday.
Lera Alexin and Ema Bubalo also had a solid day, winning a doubles match and then nearly knocking off the No. 14 doubles team in the nation from North Carolina, falling 12-10 in a tiebreaker. Alexin split her singles matches and Bubalo fell in a three set singles match.
"We made some good adjustments from yesterday," CU head coach Anthony Pham said. "We took a step forward today, and we want everybody to finish the tournament on a positive note tomorrow."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Gaining momentum early in doubles action, the Buffs swept the 8 a.m. contest to open the day. Going face-to-face with Purdue, Alexin and Bubalo defeated Ece Gencer and Nehir Dogan 6-3. The duo then pushed the 14th-ranked Tar Heel team of Anna Frey and Alanis Hamilton to the brink in a 7-6 (10) thriller.
"They fought off several match points," Pham said. "That was a highly ranked team. We had match points and fought off several match points. They showed good level and good poise, just unfortunately fell a little short."
In the same fashion, Crncan and Ternstroem secured a dominant win, defeating USF's Sienna Lesson and Josefine Falster 6-1, only allowing one set from the Bulls before both Buffs doubles teams advanced to the next round.
Though both teams fell in their second doubles matches, all four Colorado players made strides in individual play.
After defeating Milwaukee's Karolina Skowronska in straight sets, Crncan, the second year from England, continued the day by overpowering LIP's Deborah Collado Dominguez 6-2 and 6-3, to finish the day 2-0 in singles, not losing more than three games in any of her four sets.
Energy continued through the day as Ternstroem, the singular newcomer of the team, continued in Crncan's footsteps. The first year defeated MU's Emmerson White quickly, finishing 6-2 and 6-3 before beating Purdue's Nehir Dogan. After a close 7-5 first set, Ternstoem dominated the finals set 6-1 to pick up two singles wins on the day.
Alexin battled tough with USF's Josefine Falster, going to a tiebreaker in the first set before falling 6-4 in the second. She rebounded with a strong 6-2, 6-2 win over Marquette's Elise Barnstedt to finish off her day.
Alternating sets against Kansas's Sabrina Balderrama, Bubalo lost the third tiebreaking set after splitting the first two.
UP NEXT
Colorado will continue play Sunday for the final day of the Milwaukee Tennis Classic. What is expected to be a lighter day will conclude the three day tournament.
Bubalo and Alexin will play one doubles match whereas Crncan and Ternstroem will play singles for final draws.
RESULTS
Doubles
Lera Alexin/ Ema Bubalo (CU) def. Ece Gencer/Nehir Dogan (PU) 6-3
Heidi Crncan/Louise Ternstroem (CU) def. Sienna Leeson/Josefine Falster (USF) 6-1
Alanis Hamilton/Anna Frey (UNC) def. Lera Alexin/ Ema Bubalo (CU) 7-6 (10)
Deborah Collade Dominquez/Mariia Dolzhenko (LIP) def. Heidi Crncan/Louise Ternstroem (CU) 6-1
Singles
Josefine Falster (USF) def. Lera Alexin (CU) 7-6 (3), 6-4
Sabrina Balderrama (KSU) def. Ema Bubalo (CU) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0
Heidi Crncan (CU) def. Karolina Skowronska (UWM) 6-1, 6-2
Louise Ternstroem (CU) def. Emmerson White (MU) 6-2, 6-3
Lera Alexin (CU) def. Elise Barnstedt (MU) 6-2, 6-2
Heidi Crncan (CU) def. Deborah Collado Dominguez (LIP) 6-2, 6-3
Louise Ternstroem (CU) def. Nehir Dogan (PU) 7-5, 6-1
Lera Alexin and Ema Bubalo also had a solid day, winning a doubles match and then nearly knocking off the No. 14 doubles team in the nation from North Carolina, falling 12-10 in a tiebreaker. Alexin split her singles matches and Bubalo fell in a three set singles match.
"We made some good adjustments from yesterday," CU head coach Anthony Pham said. "We took a step forward today, and we want everybody to finish the tournament on a positive note tomorrow."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Gaining momentum early in doubles action, the Buffs swept the 8 a.m. contest to open the day. Going face-to-face with Purdue, Alexin and Bubalo defeated Ece Gencer and Nehir Dogan 6-3. The duo then pushed the 14th-ranked Tar Heel team of Anna Frey and Alanis Hamilton to the brink in a 7-6 (10) thriller.
"They fought off several match points," Pham said. "That was a highly ranked team. We had match points and fought off several match points. They showed good level and good poise, just unfortunately fell a little short."
In the same fashion, Crncan and Ternstroem secured a dominant win, defeating USF's Sienna Lesson and Josefine Falster 6-1, only allowing one set from the Bulls before both Buffs doubles teams advanced to the next round.
Though both teams fell in their second doubles matches, all four Colorado players made strides in individual play.
After defeating Milwaukee's Karolina Skowronska in straight sets, Crncan, the second year from England, continued the day by overpowering LIP's Deborah Collado Dominguez 6-2 and 6-3, to finish the day 2-0 in singles, not losing more than three games in any of her four sets.
Energy continued through the day as Ternstroem, the singular newcomer of the team, continued in Crncan's footsteps. The first year defeated MU's Emmerson White quickly, finishing 6-2 and 6-3 before beating Purdue's Nehir Dogan. After a close 7-5 first set, Ternstoem dominated the finals set 6-1 to pick up two singles wins on the day.
Alexin battled tough with USF's Josefine Falster, going to a tiebreaker in the first set before falling 6-4 in the second. She rebounded with a strong 6-2, 6-2 win over Marquette's Elise Barnstedt to finish off her day.
Alternating sets against Kansas's Sabrina Balderrama, Bubalo lost the third tiebreaking set after splitting the first two.
UP NEXT
Colorado will continue play Sunday for the final day of the Milwaukee Tennis Classic. What is expected to be a lighter day will conclude the three day tournament.
Bubalo and Alexin will play one doubles match whereas Crncan and Ternstroem will play singles for final draws.
RESULTS
Doubles
Lera Alexin/ Ema Bubalo (CU) def. Ece Gencer/Nehir Dogan (PU) 6-3
Heidi Crncan/Louise Ternstroem (CU) def. Sienna Leeson/Josefine Falster (USF) 6-1
Alanis Hamilton/Anna Frey (UNC) def. Lera Alexin/ Ema Bubalo (CU) 7-6 (10)
Deborah Collade Dominquez/Mariia Dolzhenko (LIP) def. Heidi Crncan/Louise Ternstroem (CU) 6-1
Singles
Josefine Falster (USF) def. Lera Alexin (CU) 7-6 (3), 6-4
Sabrina Balderrama (KSU) def. Ema Bubalo (CU) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0
Heidi Crncan (CU) def. Karolina Skowronska (UWM) 6-1, 6-2
Louise Ternstroem (CU) def. Emmerson White (MU) 6-2, 6-3
Lera Alexin (CU) def. Elise Barnstedt (MU) 6-2, 6-2
Heidi Crncan (CU) def. Deborah Collado Dominguez (LIP) 6-2, 6-3
Louise Ternstroem (CU) def. Nehir Dogan (PU) 7-5, 6-1
Players Mentioned
Friday, January 16
Sunday, April 13
Monday, April 15
Saturday, April 13
