Colorado Buffaloes Begin Fall Season at Milwaukee Tennis 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 staple on the calendar that begins Friday at the Nicolet Tennis Center and runs through Sunday.
It is not just another warm-up event. Win here, and you punch a direct ticket into the All-American regional rankings. For a program intent on climbing, that matters.
New season, new face
Colorado travels with a four-player group: returners Heidi Crncan, Ema Bubalo and Lera Alexin, joined by newcomer Louise Ternstroem, who will make her Buffs debut in Milwaukee. Play begins at 9 a.m. Friday with ITA-sanctioned competition.
Ternstroem, the only new face on an eight-woman roster, arrives from Taby, Sweden. She has spent the last three weeks in Colorado doing the unglamorous work — practice courts, conditioning, settling into a new country and a new standard.
"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 weekend, she finds out how that work translates when the scoreboard is on.
Heavy workload in Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Tennis Classic offers a demanding format: a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles field. Friday packs in the doubles round of 16 and the singles rounds of 32 and 16, an early test of fitness and focus after a long offseason.
Doubles teams are guaranteed three matches before quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon, giving pairs a chance to build chemistry instead of bowing out after one bad set. Singles players are guaranteed four matches before the semi-finals, an ideal platform for a program looking for both results and reps.
By Sunday’s finals, anyone still standing will have earned it.
The stakes are clear. Claiming the Milwaukee title brings immediate recognition in the form of direct entry into the All-American regional rankings, a shortcut into the national conversation as the fall unfolds.
Building toward January
For Colorado, this is only the first step. The Milwaukee trip opens a fall schedule built around individual growth and long-term preparation for January’s dual season.
On the horizon sit marquee events such as the ITA All-Americans and the Bedford Cup, where the level spikes and the margins shrink. Pham wants his players ready for that climb, not just surviving it.
"The most important thing is making sure that you are getting better," he said. "Doing the things that you have to do every day in order to make you a better player, a more complete player."
The message is simple: the fall is not about polishing records. It is about sharpening edges.
Pham’s long view
Pham enters the new campaign with fresh security and fresh expectations. Named ITA Rocky Mountain Region Coach of the Year last season, he recently signed a contract extension through 2029, solidifying his place as the seventh head coach in Colorado tennis history for the long term.
That extension gives this fall a different feel. This is no short-term rebuild. It is a project with time, structure and a clear voice at the top.
Now the work moves to the court in Milwaukee, where a Swedish freshman makes her first swing in black and gold, veterans try to push their games a level higher, and a program with a long runway starts its next chapter point by point.
