Colorado Buffaloes Tennis Team Begins Fall Season at Milwaukee Classic

GLENDALE, Wis. — The fall season starts early for most college programs. For Colorado, it starts with a statement.

The Buffaloes open their 10-tournament fall campaign this weekend at the 50th annual Milwaukee Tennis Classic, a three-day test at the Nicolet Tennis Center that has long doubled as a measuring stick for ambition and depth.

Four Buffs will carry that weight into Wisconsin: returners Heidi Crncan, Ema Bubalo and Lera Alexin, joined by newcomer Louise Ternstroem, who will make her Colorado debut when play begins at 9 a.m. Friday.

A New Face, A Quick Study

Ternstroem is the only newcomer on an eight-woman roster, but she has wasted little time trying to close the experience gap. The Swede from Taby arrived in Boulder just three weeks ago and has thrown herself into training, intent on being ready for a tournament that rarely forgives slow starts.

"She's a super hard worker, really serious about her tennis," head coach Anthony Pham said. "It will be good for her to be around the other teammates and competing."

This is no soft launch. The Milwaukee Tennis Classic, now in its 50th year, draws a deep field and offers something every player chases: a direct pathway into the All-American regional rankings for its champions.

Heavy Workload, Clear Rewards

The format demands stamina and sharpness from the first ball. Singles will run in a 32-player draw, doubles in a 16-team bracket. Friday’s schedule is packed: the doubles round of 16, plus the singles rounds of 32 and 16.

By design, no one flies in for just a match or two and heads home. Doubles teams are guaranteed three matches before Sunday’s finals, with quarterfinals slated for Saturday afternoon. Singles players are guaranteed four matches before the semi-finals.

It’s a grind, but for Pham, that’s the point. The early fall is about repetition, pressure, and learning to solve problems on the fly, not about polishing a win-loss record in September.

Building for January, One Match at a Time

This weekend marks the first step in a long runway that stretches through the fall and into the dual-match season in January. After Milwaukee, Colorado’s schedule tightens, with marquee events such as the ITA All-Americans and the Bedford Cup looming on the calendar.

"The most important thing is making sure that you are getting better," Pham said. "Doing the things that you have to do every day in order to make you a better player, a more complete player."

For Crncan, Bubalo and Alexin, Milwaukee offers a chance to turn an offseason’s worth of work into results and rhythm. For Ternstroem, it’s a first look at American college tennis under real lights, real nerves, and real expectations.

A Program Leaning Into Its Moment

Pham enters the weekend with his own momentum. Named ITA Rocky Mountain Region Coach of the Year last season, he recently signed a contract extension through 2029, securing his role as the seventh head coach in Colorado tennis history for the long term.

That stability matters. It gives Colorado’s players a clear framework: a demanding fall, a defined style, and a coach committed to incremental growth over quick fixes.

The season will not be decided in a three-day stretch in Wisconsin. But for a program intent on climbing, how the Buffs handle this first test — the volume of matches, the quality of opposition, the strain of a packed draw — will say plenty about where they’re headed when the real scoreboards start counting in January.