Buff Tidbits
CU club skier聽Alexis Keeney聽claimed a gold medal in the women鈥檚 slopestyle at the Winter World University Games in Italy in December. It was the only gold medal for the Americans. CU was represented by three Olympians in Sochi this year 鈥斅�Julia Marino聽in slopestyle skiing for Paraguay,聽Luke Steyn聽in alpine skiing for Zimbabwe and聽Arman Serebrakian聽(IntPhys, MS鈥�11) in alpine skiing for Armenia. Marino and Steyn were the first winter Olympians to represent their countries. The CU volleyball team made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006. The Buffs鈥� 18-14 record gave them their most wins in a season in 10 years.
Soccer Team Makes Sweet 16
For just the second time in program history, the CU women鈥檚 soccer team advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. Despite a 4-0 season-ending loss to Florida State 鈥� the eventual national runner-up 鈥� the Buffs finished with a 14-7-2 record, including back-to-back NCAA victories over ranked teams. The Buffs earned an NCAA tournament berth for the first time since 2008. 鈥淭his whole season has been a dream for me,鈥� senior聽Anne Stuller听蝉补测蝉.
Basketball Nationally Recognized
Four or five seasons ago, the thought of both the CU men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball teams being simultaneously ranked in the top 20 in the nation would have been laughable. But no one was laughing as 2014 dawned with both programs in just such positions.
After defeating No. 6 Kansas and No. 10 Oregon in the course of a month, the CU men matched their highest national ranking since 1969 by ascending to No. 15 in the AP poll. The Buffs鈥� 14-2 record tied their best mark through 16 games since 1941-42, before leading scorer Spencer Dinwiddie suffered a season-ending left knee injury in Game 17 on Jan. 12.
Meanwhile, the CU women climbed as high as No. 11 in the nation as they went 9-0 to start the season. The Buffs won 33 consecutive non-conference regular-season games before falling to No. 7 Louisville just before Christmas.
Photography by Tony Harman
