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Sanders Shines As Buffs Fall 5-2 To No. 53 Utah
Apr 20th
BOULDER – Erin Sanders stood out in her final regular season match as a Buffalo as the University of Colorado tennis team fell 5-2 to No. 53 Utah on Saturday at the Millennium Hotel Harvest House.
The Buffs end the season with a 7-14 overall, 2-8 Pac-12 Conference record, matching last year’s overall win total, but marking a milestone with their two conference victories (Colorado entered the match tied for eighth in the conference standings). All 12 of CU’s final opponents were either ranked, had at least one ranked player or doubles team or both (as is the case for eight of the teams). The No. 53 Utes, who boast No. 92 Tereza Bekerova in singles and No. 32 Bekerova/Miles in doubles, improve to 11-8, 5-5 Pac-12.
“Congrats to Utah,” CU head coach Nicole Kenneally said. “They played a great match. It’s a bummer that we didn’t get the win. It would have been really nice to get our last match at home, with it being senior day. We’ll continue to work hard. I think we have a bright future ahead of us. I look forward to next weekend in Ojai. It’s all individual play, so it’s a little bit different.”
Senior Erin Sanders claimed the 29th singles victory of her career with a win in straight sets over Natasha Smith. She eased through her first set 6-2, and looked poised to blank Smith in the second set. Sanders was up 5-0 when Smith came fighting back, winning four straight games, but Sanders cut the comeback short to claim the set 6-4.
“I think it was honestly just the fact that I really wanted to win,” Sanders said. “I wasn’t going to let her take it to a third set.”
The win was Sanders’ third in the Pac-12, in addition to her two match-clinching victories over Arizona and No. 59 Oregon. Sanders recorded eight wins in dual play in her final season. The win also marked her 23rd victory in straight sets.
“It’s always great seeing a senior finish on their last match with a win,” Kenneally said. “It’s really great. I know she’s really happy, and we’re really happy for her. We wanted the team win, but it’s really great that she finished it off with a solid performance.”
Though she dropped her first set 2-6, Carla Manzi Tenorio earned a victory over Lucia Kovarcikova when Kovarcikova retired before the start of the second set. Manzi Tenorio now leads the Buffs with 41 career singles wins, including four in the Pac-12.
With the regular season now complete, the Buffs head to Ojai, Calif. for the Pac-12 Conference Championships beginning Thursday, April 25. The tournament consists of a 32-singles draw with three players from each of the top 10 Pac-12 schools and two players from the 11th place team, based on regular season standings. The 16-team women’s doubles draw will have one doubles team from each of the 11 schools and five additional teams selected by the Draw Committee.
CU sports media
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CU quarterback moving on, with two seasons of eligibility left
Apr 19th
BOULDER — University of Colorado junior quarterback Nick Hirschman informed head coach Mike MacIntyre Friday morning that he was foregoing his final two years of eligibility as a Buffalo and would transfer to another school to continue his football career.
Hirschman, who stands 6-foot-4, weighs 230 pounds and hails from Los Gatos, Calif., will graduate next month in just three years (and three summers of coursework) with a B.A. degree in Communication. He would then be eligible to compete immediately this fall at another school per NCAA rules.
“I felt at this time that it has been three years, a great three years, but with no decision made at the end of spring ball, it was personal choice that it was time for me to move on,” Hirschman said. “I am hoping for the best for each and every teammate, and each and every coach. It’s been a wonderful experience here, I’m still really happy about my choice to come to Colorado and I made a lot of good friends here. I will never regret my decision coming out of high school to become a Buff and I’m hoping everything will work out for everyone.”
Hirschman, who announced his decision to transfer midday Friday on Twitter, also said, “I am definitely looking to continue my football career where I can earn my graduate degree.” He said he is at looking at something else in the communications field or in business and marketing.
Hirschman ended the spring tied atop the depth chart with Connor Wood. In the four main spring scrimmages including the spring game, he completed 32-of-50 passes for 433 yards, with seven touchdowns and one interception, a passer rating of 178.9; Wood was 36-of-56 for 589 yards, with five TDs and no picks, a rating of 182.1.
MacIntyre said Hirschman and Wood, “were tied at number one on the depth chart and were set to continue their competition into fall drills. “Nick’s a phenomenal young man, a great team player, and I was looking forward to watching him mature this fall and to see how he would do in the battle for starting quarterback job.
“We hate to lose him, but we do wish him the best.” MacIntyre granted him a release from his scholarship to all schools other than any other Pac-12 Conference school or an opponent on CU’s 2013 or 2014 schedules.
He played in eight games, including two starts, as a sophomore in 2012, completing 55-of-93 passes for 589 yards, with two touchdowns and seven interceptions. His best game came in the season finale against Utah, when he was 30-of-51 for 306 yards (1 TD, 4 interceptions) in a 42-35 loss. Overall, he engineered 40 drives, leading CU to 10 touchdowns and a field goal in 227 plays from scrimmage.
The Buffs started the spring with six quarterbacks, but are now down to four with the departure of Hirschman and the season-ending knee injury to senior Jordan Webb, who suffered a torn ACL in the last week of spring drills and underwent surgery on Thursday. The others on the roster are sophomores Stevie Joe Dorman and John Schrock and redshirt freshman Shane Dillon. They will be joined in the fall by freshman recruit Sefo Liufau.
David Plati
Associate AD/Sports Information
University of Colorado Buffaloes
357 UCB / Fieldhouse Annex #50
Boulder, CO 80309-0357
303/492-5626 (office)
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Chucky’s headed to the pros championship team
Apr 16th
BOULDER – University of Colorado senior Chucky Jeffery was selected by the Minnesota Lynx in the second round of the 2013 WNBA draft Monday.
She was the 12th pick in the second round and the 24th pick overall.
“I’m truly excited to be a part of the Minnesota Lynx organization,” Jeffery said. “I can’t wait to meet everyone. I’ve always loved Seimone (Agustus); watching Maya Moore, and coming in with (first round pick and Nebraska point guard) Lindsey Moore, it’s going to be fun.
“I’m looking forward to learning everything from the veterans and elevate my game.”
Minnesota was the 2011 WNBA champion and runner up in 2012, finishing 27-7 and first in the Western Conference. The Lynx are coached by Cheryl Reeve.
Jeffery watched the draft on a snowy Colorado night with her Colorado teammates. Once she saw her name on the screen, she caught herself just staring at the television, while her fellow Buffaloes celebrated around her.
“My teammates were going crazy, I had already been a little nervous; it was getting rough,” Jeffery said. “But then the excitement…it’s unexplainable, but wonderful.”
Jeffery is the fifth player in team history to be selected in the WNBA Draft and second in the last three years. Former teammate Brittany Spears (2007-11) was a second round pick in 2011 (19th overall) by the Phoenix Mercury. Jeffery was one of the “excited teammates” when Spears’ name was called two years ago.
“The day I saw Brittany picked, I said ‘I wanted to be there’ and the work starts now,” Jeffery said.
Isabelle Fijalkowski (1994-95) was the second overall pick in the inaugural WNBA Elite Draft in 1997 by the Cleveland Rockers. Raegan Scott (1993-97) was also drafted in 1997, by the Utah Starzz in the regular WNBA Draft third round, 21st overall. Mandy Nightingale (1998-02) was selected by the Portland Fire in the third round, 37th overall pick, in 2002.
A 5-foot-10 guard from Colorado Springs, Colo., Jeffery led Colorado in scoring (13.7 ppg), assists (4.0 apg), rebounds (8.2 rpg) and steals (2.2 spg). She was prominent on the Pac-12 Conference leaderboard ranking fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3), fifth in steals and assists, sixth in overall rebounding and defensive rebounds (6.3 drpg), ninth in scoring and 13th in free-throw percentage (.706). She had 10 double-doubles, sixth in the Pac-12, eight of which came during league play.
Colorado head coach Linda Lappe cites Jeffery’s versatility was something that caught the eye of the Lynx organization.
“They like her ability to rebound from the guard position, that she’s a bigger point guard and can play the (off guard) and score the basket,” Lappe said.
One of the most dynamic players in Colorado history, Jeffery was an honorable mention All-American and a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Region nominee for the 2013 WBCA Division I Coaches’ All-America Team.
Lappe feels Jeffery’s overall athleticism and ability to get to the rim will serve her well at the next level. Plus, she’s got a great mind for what is happening out on the court.
“She has good understanding of the game,” Lappe said. “She had to do so much for us for three years, she’s done everything we’ve asked her to do.
“Chucky has worked hard to really improve herself as a basketball player and as a leader. I’m so happy for her, the Lynx is a great organization with a great fan base. She’ll learn a lot there; it’s a great situation for Chucky.”
Jeffery was named All-Pac-12 for the second-straight year by both the media and the coaches. She also earned Pac-12 All-Tournament honors and was an honorable mention to the coaches’ All-Defensive team. Jeffery made national headlines in December, leading the Buffaloes to an upset win over then-No. 8 ranked and eventual national runner-up Louisville, earning espnW and U.S. Basketball Writers Association Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week honors.
Jeffery is the only player in program history to record 1,600 points, 900 rebounds and 400 assists, ending her career sixth in scoring (1,644), fifth in rebounding (921) and fourth in assists (481).
She also ranks third in minutes played (3,965), fourth in steals (283) and steals average (2.3 spg), fifth in double-doubles (30), sixth in assists average (3.8 apg) and field-goals made (619), seventh in minutes average (31.7 mpg), ninth in rebound average (7.4 rpg), starts (108) and games played (125), 11th in free-throws made (331), 13th in blocks (71), 14th in scoring average (13.2 ppg) and 15th in 3-point field goals (75).
Colorado finished the 2012-13 season at 25-7 overall and fourth place in the Pac-12 at 13-5. The Buffaloes, who were ranked No. 19 in the final AP Top 25 poll, advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in team history and first time since 2004.
“This has always been a dream, always in the back of my mind. This year I just focused on my season and continued to get better. The first year (2009-10) was an entire journey in itself, not what we had expected. But with Meagan and Brenna (Malcolm-Peck), we helped turn this program around, it’s remarkable to leave the program in a better situation than what we came in with.”
Troy Andre
Assistant SID/Internet Managing Editor
University of Colorado
O: 303-492-4672 C: 303-903-3654
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