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Cowgirls Open Fall at Jon Messick Invitational

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By
Kevin DeVries, Athletic Communications Coordinator - Tennis, Volleyball and Women’s Basketball, University of Wyoming Athletics

First of five fall events in 2026 for Wyoming

LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 16, 2026) – The Wyoming Cowgirls open their 2026 fall slate this week across the border as the Cowgirls travel to Colorado State for three days of competition at the Jon Messick Invitational. The event will be held September 18-20 in Fort Collins.

This weekend will be the first of five fall events for UW in 2026 before the 2027 dual slate begins in January. After this week, Wyoming will travel to the Air Force Bedford Cup Sept. 25-27. October 13-17 brings the ITA Mountain Regional Championships hosted by BYU in Provo, Utah.

The Mountain West Fall Individual Championships will be held in Las Vegas from Oct. 19-25. The Cowgirls close the fall schedule with a trip to Cancun, Mexico for a full week of contests south of the border.

This will be the 14th fall for Wyoming under Head Coach Dean Clower, who will be leading the Cowgirls into their 15th dual season this winter and spring. Wyoming welcomes back a pair of All-Mountain West honorees in Silver Bijlsma, who was a member of both the MW’s singles and doubles teams last spring, as well as Anastasiia Kochelaevskaia, who is a two-time Mountain West All-Singles Team honoree. UW has a number of returners in 2026-27 in Eugenia Ceinos, Dilnaz Mashabayeva, Madlena Orlova and Ruby Young.

A trio of newcomers join the Cowgirl squad this season. UW welcomes a pair of freshmen in Zlata Nesterova (Moscow, Russia) and Ivona Ridan (Slavonski Brod, Croatia). Antonella Taco transfers into Wyoming after spending her first two seasons at Stephen F. Austin.

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