Women's Tennis 4/20/2023 3:16:00 PM Chris Brannick

Bronchos Begin Postseason Friday

EDMOND – Central Oklahoma begins the 2023 MIAA Women's Tennis Championship Friday at 4 p.m. against longtime rival Northeastern State in the opening round of the postseason tournament.

Central Oklahoma (10-9) is the No. 5 seed in the tournament. Northeastern State (10-7) is the No. 4 seed. The two schools tied with a 5-3 record in the MIAA this spring. The winner of the match will advance to the MIAA Women's Tennis Championship semifinals Saturday at 10 a.m. against No. 1 seed Northwest Missouri.

UCO, which has won three consecutive MIAA tournament titles, heads into the postseason on a two-game win streak. The Bronchos are ranked No. 29 in the country in the latest ITA National Rankings and are No. 2 in the latest NCAA Central Region rankings.

Nikki Boyar and Blythe Buntrock lead the Bronchos into this weekend's tournament. The duo is ranked No. 4 in the country in this week's ITA Doubles Top 50, owning a 14-5 record on the year. They have also won two in a row and have a 5-3 record in the MIAA this season.

Boyar is 11-6 in singles play this season and was named First Team All-MIAA at the No. 4 position. Buntrock is 7-11 overall, playing 5-5 at No. 2 and 2-6 at the No. 1 position.

Pete Komada and Nefeli Zafeiri are 13-5 playing 10-3 at No. 3 doubles and 3-2 at No. 2 doubles this season. The duo has won two in a row and is 8-2 in their last 10 matches. Komada is also ranked No. 24 in the country in this week's ITA Singles Top 75 and has a 10-9 overall record. She is 7-1 at No. 2 singles and was 3-8 at the No. 1 position. Zafeiri is 9-8 playing all 17 matches at No. 3 singles this season.

Tizia Brocks, who is 8-9 in singles play this season, has played with Karyna Yurchenko to a 5-6 doubles record. Brocks has also played with Komada once and Taylor Conway five times.

Central Oklahoma played at Northeastern State on March 18, falling 6-1 to the Riverhawks. UCO will try to advance to the MIAA semifinals for the fourth straight year. The Bronchos lost the championship match in 2018 before winning the annual postseason tournament in 2019, 2021, and 2022.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Nikki Boyar: 5' 2"; Graduate Student

Tizia Brocks: 5' 9"; Graduate Student

Blythe Buntrock: 5' 8"; Junior

Taylor Conway: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Pete Komada: 5' 5"; Freshman

Karyna Yurchenko: 5' 6"; Freshman

Nefeli Zafeiri: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Nikki Boyar
: 5' 2"; Graduate Student

Tizia Brocks
: 5' 9"; Graduate Student

Blythe Buntrock
: 5' 8"; Junior

Taylor Conway
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Pete Komada
: 5' 5"; Freshman

Karyna Yurchenko
: 5' 6"; Freshman

Nefeli Zafeiri
: 5' 7"; Sophomore