The University of Colorado tennis team will lose four seniors this year to graduation -- all of whom will be sorely missed.

Among the graduating seniors is Gleisy Torres Torres, who was recently named team MVP at the annual end-of-the-year tennis banquet.

Torres Torres finished her career in 10th place all-time on the singles victory list for CU women's tennis with 74 wins. She also tied for 8th place all-time in doubles victories with 54. In addition to her on-court prowess, Torres Torres was serving up A's in the classroom as she was named to the First Team Academic All-Big 12 Team for three consecutive years and was recently named as one of 12 student-athletes to the Big 12 Conference Good Works Team.

The Barquisimeto, Venezuela native may have had success on the court and in the classroom, but she didn't have quite as much success with team vans.

"One time I had to drive the coach's van and it broke down, [but] I wasn't the one who broke the vehicle," said Torres Torres.

Though it may not have been her fault, she most certainly was punished for it.

"We had to wait for like four hours in a parking lot for a car to come pick us up," she said.

Luckily, Torres Torres didn't finish her CU tennis career waiting in a parking lot. Instead, she finished it in the semifinals of the Big-12 Conference tournament. Ending her career with the team ranked fourth in the tournament was a satisfying finale for Gleisy.

"I played [in the semifinals] my freshman year and it's kind of closing a chapter that I started," she said.

Though the chapter is closed, the ending wasn't the best part. She said her favorite moments as a CU tennis player were "beating Nebraska every year except my freshman year."

Outside of beating CU's most despised rival, Torres Torres says she will also miss the girls and the camaraderie on the team. She won't be the only one doing the missing, as CU head coach Nicole Kenneally said she will miss her overall leadership. Torres Torres is not, however, the only senior that will be dearly missed.

In Victoria 'Tori' Almagno, who played two years for CU after transferring from Auburn, the team will lose not only her on-court success (she went 10-4 in singles as a senior), but her off-court antics. According to Coach Kenneally, "she was kind of the jokester on the team. She made everyone laugh a lot."

Veera Nurmi, a senior from Lahti, Finland, tied Torres Torres in career singles victories with 74, somehow ending with the same record of 74-45. Of her value to the team, Coach Kenneally said: "She was someone who showed up to practice everyday and really worked hard. [She] really wanted to get better."

Though she didn't officially play a match in her senior year, Allison Quinn was also considered an important part of the team. Coach Kenneally believes she "was a great team asset. We're going to miss having her around."

All of the seniors were huge losses to the team, as each contributed in their own way on and off the court.

"Wherever they go here in the next 6-12 months, we know they'll be looking back and hoping for success for the program," said Kenneally.

Though they may be hoping for team success in the coming years, in the previous few years, they each made a noticeable contribution to the CU tennis program's growth and progress.

Contact Eric Peterson about this story at (303) 443-6272 ext. 112 or sports@coloradodaily.com