(Morgan Harrington Photo)
Wyoming tennis featured a plethora of young talent this season—but none more impressive than Silver Bijlsma. Bijlsma and the Cowgirls recently capped off their season last Thursday, finishing with a 12-11 record after falling to the top-seed San Diego State at the Mountain West championships.
Despite a disappointing finish to an up-and-down season, head coach Dean Clower will have much to look forward to next season with many of his top contributors having the opportunity to return next season.
Bijlsma will undoubtedly be one he wants back.
“The upside is that I get them all for [at least] another two years,” Clower said of his young roster.
Bijlsma’s impact on the court didn’t need years worth of development to be felt, though, as she had quickly molded into one of the top singles threats for the Cowgirls. Bijlsma held onto the best overall singles record amongst the entire roster, as the freshman completed her first season with a 25-10 record in singles play while maintaining a 17.70 World Tennis Number (WTN). She is also one half of the Cowgirls’ best doubles team, as she also has a 18-10 doubles record when partnering with senior Violetta Borodina.
Bijlsma was also the only freshman in the conference to be named to both the all-Mountain West singles team and doubles team alongside her partner Borodina, which certainly solidified herself as one of the best freshman in the conference, despite puzzlingly not being named the Freshman of the Year.
“I think the season has been great so far for me personally,” Bijlsma said ahead of the Cowgirls’ Mountain West championship run. “I’ve had some good results as well, and as a team too.”
Borodina has had a significant impact on Bijlsma’s success as a freshman as well, as her experience has helped guide Bijlsma through her own freshman season. Borodina was a crucial piece in the Cowgirls winning their first Mountain West regular season title in program history when she was a freshman in 2023. Much like Bijlsma this season, Borodina was crowned thrice as the league’s Freshman of the Week during that campaign.
Clower regarded Borodina as one of the best doubles players he’s ever coached, as she completed her career with a 78-36 record in doubles matches at Wyoming. The chance to compete with one of the program’s best wasn’t lost on Bijlsma.
“It’s nice to play doubles with her because of her experience,” Bijlsma said. “For me on the court, she’s been playing for longer than me. With her experience, it’s nice to have her help me on the court as well.”
With Borodina and fellow senior standout Serina Abriola completing their careers at Wyoming, it will be up to Bijlsma and the rest of the youth on this roster to carry on what those two started, as Clower and the Cowgirls still seek their first Mountain West tournament championship title in program history.
It certainly feels as if they will have the players to do so if this group, headlined by Bijlsma’s excellent freshman year, sticks together in the future.
