Colorado Buffaloes Sweep Wisconsin at Milwaukee Tennis Classic
GLENDALE, Wis. – On the final day of the Milwaukee Tennis Classic’s 50th anniversary, Colorado didn’t just tidy up a good weekend. The Buffaloes slammed the door.
With a light Sunday schedule after two heavy days of competition, Colorado’s small traveling squad delivered two sharp, decisive wins over Wisconsin to close the three-day event with authority.
The tone was set early in doubles. Returning pair Lera Alexin and Ema Bubalo wasted no time imposing themselves on Wisconsin’s team of Karolina Jacobson and Gabriela Skrabalova. Alexin and Bubalo broke in the opening game, immediately grabbing control. Wisconsin answered to level at 1-1, but that was as close as the Badgers would get.
The Colorado duo ripped through the next three games, stretching the lead to 4-1 and dictating the tempo from the baseline and at the net. Wisconsin briefly stemmed the tide to make it 4-2, only for the Buffs to clamp down again, rattling off the final two games to seal a convincing 6-2 victory.
Doubles in the bag. Momentum firmly in black and gold hands.
That energy rolled straight into singles, where first-year player Louise Ternstroem stepped into the spotlight for her Colorado debut. Of the four Buffaloes who made the trip, she was the only one to play singles on Sunday, and she turned the opportunity into a statement.
Facing Jacobson, the Colorado native on the opposite side of the net, Ternstroem started with purpose. She took the opening set 6-3, showing composure that belied her newcomer status. Jacobson refused to fold, tightening her game and dragging the second set into a tiebreak. Under pressure, the Badger edged it 7-6 to level the match and briefly swing the tension back to the home-state program.
The contest came down to the deciding match tiebreak. That’s where Ternstroem steadied herself, absorbed the moment, and closed. She prevailed in the breaker to lock up the singles win and complete Colorado’s clean sweep on the day.
By the end of the weekend, the Buffs had logged six doubles matches and 15 singles matches across the first two days, then finished with a ruthless, efficient flourish on Sunday. Head coach Anthony Pham pointed to the volume of competition and the way his group handled it, highlighting their maturity and response to adversity.
Next comes a different kind of test. Colorado heads back to Boulder for a week of practice, sharpening details before the Bedford Cup at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs from Sept. 25–27.
A strong close in Milwaukee is in the books. Now the question is how far this early-season edge can carry the Buffaloes once the stakes rise in Colorado Springs.
Results
- Doubles
Lera Alexin / Ema Bubalo (CU) def. Karolina Jacobson / Gabriela Skrabalova (UW) 6-2 - Singles
Louise Ternstroem (CU) def. Karolina Jacobson (UW) 6-3, 6-7, 1-0
