COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Mines Club Tennis delivered a competitive weekend at the UCCS Tournament Oct. 9-11, with both Oredigger squads advancing to bracket play. Mines A secured a spot in the Gold Bracket and finished fifth, while Mines B qualified for the Bronze Bracket and earned a victory during pool play.
The tournament provided Mines with an opportunity to compete against a variety of collegiate club programs across singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Across the weekend, the Orediggers recorded several strong team performances, including three pool-play victories for Mines A and a pair of wins for Mines B.
Mines A opened pool play Saturday morning against UNC A, setting the tone with a 30-16 team victory. Lily Sommer and Lilia Emrich opened with a 6-2 women's doubles win, while George Robin and Noah Stenov matched that result with a 6-2 victory in men's doubles. Sommer added a 6-2 singles win, and Federico Proietti earned a narrow 6-5 singles victory after winning the deciding tiebreaker 5-2. Alex Ross and Proietti closed out the matchup with another 6-5 win in mixed doubles.
The Orediggers continued their strong pool-play performance against UCCS B, earning a 28-12 victory. Ross and Emrich teamed up for a 6-2 doubles win, while Ross delivered a dominant 6-0 singles performance. Proietti added a 6-1 singles victory, and Sommer and Stenov secured a 6-3 mixed doubles win. The result gave Mines A its second victory of the tournament.
Mines A closed pool play Saturday evening against UNL B with another convincing performance, winning 29-12. Sommer and Emrich earned a 6-4 women's doubles victory, while Sommer dominated her singles match 6-0. Proietti also recorded a 6-0 singles win, and Ross and Proietti added a 6-2 victory in mixed doubles. Although Stenov and Robin fell 5-6 in men's doubles, Mines A controlled the overall matchup to finish pool play with three victories.
The Orediggers also faced challenging competition during the weekend. Mines A opened its Saturday afternoon matchup against CSU A with a 13-27 loss, but responded later that evening against USU A. Sommer and Emrich earned a 6-3 women's doubles victory, Sommer added another 6-3 singles win, and Ross and Ben Chandler edged their mixed doubles opponents 6-5, with the tiebreaker going 5-3 in Mines' favor. Those contributions helped Mines A secure a 27-23 team victory and strengthen its position heading into bracket play.
After pool play, Mines A advanced to the Gold Bracket, where the Orediggers faced UCCS A on Sunday morning. Mines delivered one of its strongest performances of the weekend, earning a 30-9 victory to close the tournament. Sommer and Emrich swept their women's doubles match 6-0, while Stenov and Henry Rexford won men's doubles 6-3. Ross added a 6-2 singles victory, and George Robin followed with a 6-3 win. Chandler and Sommer completed the dominant performance with a 6-1 mixed doubles victory.
The win secured Mines A a fifth-place finish in the Gold Bracket, capping a weekend in which the squad demonstrated its ability to recover from setbacks and compete successfully against a range of opponents.
Mines B also gained valuable tournament experience while competing in pool play before advancing to the Bronze Bracket. The squad opened against DU B with a competitive 20-25 loss. Liesl Stephenson and Suzanna Hextrum earned a 6-2 women's doubles win, while Ethan Shryer and Andrew Yonan edged their men's doubles opponents 6-5 after taking the tiebreaker 5-2.
Mines B continued pool play against USU A and Portland A, facing difficult matchups while collecting important individual victories. Against Portland A, Ariana Linhardt and Hextrum earned a 6-1 doubles victory, while Shryer and Yonan recorded another 6-5 win, taking the tiebreaker 5-3. The Orediggers ultimately fell 20-24 in the team matchup.
The squad's strongest pool-play result came against Weber A on Saturday evening. Linhardt and Stephenson won a close women's doubles match 6-5, taking the tiebreaker 5-0, while Yonan and Shryer added a 6-2 men's doubles victory. Joao Vitor Peclat Fayad earned a 6-1 singles win, and Chloe Nadeau and Elliot Fearnow secured a 6-5 mixed doubles victory in another tight finish. The combined effort gave Mines B a 29-19 team win.
Mines B also faced Colorado College A and suffered a 30-8 defeat, but continued competing throughout its pool-play schedule. The squad's performances against DU B, Portland A and Weber A featured several close doubles and mixed doubles contests, giving the Orediggers additional experience in tiebreakers and team-match situations.
In Bronze Bracket play, Mines B faced Colorado College B. The Orediggers earned a 6-3 men's doubles victory through Shryer and Yonan, while Suzanna Hextrum and Fearnow captured a close 6-5 mixed doubles win, taking the tiebreaker 5-4. Colorado College B claimed the remaining matches, however, and took the team result 27-16 after an additional overtime game.
Mines B ultimately finished either sixth or seventh in the Bronze Bracket, with the final placement still to be confirmed.
Together, the two Mines squads showed the depth of the club program and gained valuable experience over a full weekend of tournament competition. Mines A's Gold Bracket finish was highlighted by three pool-play wins and a convincing final victory over UCCS A, while Mines B produced a strong win over Weber A and several close contests across its schedule.
With both teams advancing beyond pool play, the Orediggers leave Colorado Springs with additional match experience, new doubles combinations and momentum to carry into the next event on their fall schedule.
