Sometimes luxuries can be taxing.

Like when you have more players vying for starting positions than you had on the previous year's NCAA tournament squad, as is the case for University of Colorado tennis coach Nicole Kenneally.

Kenneally's Buffs, whose fall season began at the New Mexico Invitational last weekend, return all six singles players and five of six doubles players from last spring's team that lost to Michigan in the first round of the NCAAs.

But Kenneally's job won't be as easy as just slotting the same players into their usual roles once the spring dual season rolls around.

A pair of freshmen — Christiane Pheil and Abbie Probert — added to the mix have created competition at several positions.

Not that Kenneally doesn't welcome her new situation.

"It means we've got a solid team and it means we've got depth," the coach said Wednesday.

This weekend will provide another chance for Kenneally to evaluate her players as well as providing the CU faithful their only chance of the fall to see what the Buffs have got.

The Buffs host the CU Invitational on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the South Campus tennis courts. Oklahoma, Colorado State and Northern Colorado will take on the Buffs in various different singles and doubles draws.

Play begins at 9 a.m. Friday and will run until about 3 p.m. It will resume from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, with the final singles matches beginning at about noon Sunday.

CU doubles tandems combined to go 6-3 at New Mexico last week, while the Buffs went 19-13 in singles play. They'll switch up the doubles teams for this weekend, however. The only Buff not competing will be last year's No. 1 singles player, Monica Milewski, who will be in California playing at the All-American Championships.

"The fall time is just a time to build and get stronger and make yourself healthy and strong for the spring semester," Kenneally said.

Although it's a good time for evaluation, the actual competition in the fall is scarce. After this weekend, the Buffs will have two weeks off before the regional tournament in Tulsa, which could prove to be the team's final action until the spring semester.

Aiding a cause

The fruits of the CU tennis team's third annual Tennis Marathon for Breast Cancer at the Millennium Harvest House on Aug. 26 were delivered on Monday.

Kenneally handed over a check for $23,275 to the HealthLinks Foundation, which disperses the money to cancer patients to offset treatment costs.

The amount equaled that raised by the team in the first two years of the event combined.

Aside from donations from sponsors, 242 people paid to participate as teams kept one person on the court playing at all times for nine hours. There was also a silent auction.

Soccer grab bag

The CU booters open Big

12 Conference play with a three-match homestand that begins at 4 p.m. Friday against Texas Tech at Prentup Field.

Buffs coach Bill Hempen was in the wedding of Texas Tech coach Tom Stone, whose wife is the sister of CU defender Brittany Dornseif. Hempen coached Stone while an assistant for the men's team at Duke.

As usual, the Buffs' 2-0 victory over Wyoming on Tuesday was a physical, hard-fought one against the Cowgirls. The proof is in the 33 stitches CU defender Michelle Wenino needed to close a gash in her forehead after an on-field collision. Hempen said Wenino should be able to play Friday.

Although the more experienced Kirstin Radlinski has seen most of the time at goalkeeper for the Buffs this season, Kara Linder has gotten into the mix in the past two games, shutting out Drake and playing the first half against Wyoming. Hempen said both goalies have strengths where the other has weaknesses. "I'd like to see both of them kind of iron out their deficiencies and then go game-to-game or choose the hot keeper at the appropriate time," Hempen said.

Ready for action

The volleyball team continues a tough stretch in Big 12 action at 5:30 p.m. Friday at No. 7 Texas. ... The Buffalo cross country team hosts the 22nd Rocky Mountain Shootout at 10 a.m. Saturday at CU's South Campus. ... The women's golf team hosts the Heather Farr Memorial Invitational at Inerlocken Golf Club in Broomfield on Monday and Tuesday.