Photo by: Sports Media Relations
The University of Denver women’s tennis team defeated 12-time champion University of South Alabama (USA) to win the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Women’s Tennis Championships last week in Mobile, Ala.
After DU’s women’s golf team destroyed New Mexico State’s run of three straight SBC titles, the women’s tennis team turned even more heads as the Pioneers won the championship with a 4-2 win over the No. 1 ranked Jaguars of South Alabama at Lubel Courts in Mobile.
With this win, Denver (20-1) extended its unbeated streak to 17 matches and captured the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament.
“Our strong team effort resulted in a 20-1 overall record, which is the best record in DU women’s tennis history,” said junior Yanick Dullens.
“Winning the Sun Belt Conference tournament for the very first time shows our potential for further success.”
The win also denied USA, who is 12-11, its 13th consecutive league tournament crown.
“We came out with nothing to lose,” said Head Coach Dana Young on the Denver Pioneers Web site.
“I’m so proud of how this team performed. We played amazing doubles. The team had a great attitude today. We really enjoyed the moment today and wanted to leave the tourney without any regrets.”
Young was voted the SBC Coach of the Year by other league head coaches.
This year, with her guidance, the Pioneers were able to break the 12-year reign of South Alabama.
In her fourth season at the helm of the women’s tennis program, Young remains as enthusiastic as she has been from the start.
In her previous three years at Denver, she posted a 32-29 overall record and led the Pioneers to their best record (15-7) since they joined NCAA Division I five years ago.
Since the Jaguars defeated the Pioneers in the 2003 championship match, Denver’s victory was a sweet revenge.
On the windiest day of the tournament, Denver got the important doubles point thanks to amazing play at the No. 1 and No. 2 slots.
Denver’s Dullens and Suzana Maksovic, who are ranked No. 42 nationally, got the competition started with an 8-2 win over USA’s Katarina Palenikova and Ana Rupic.
Barbara Kourim and Jenny Trettin also had an 8-2 win over USA’s Andrea Kurekova and Klara Jarova at the No. 2 position.
The Pioneers kept its momentum in singles, as they won two of the first three matches to gain a 3-1 lead.
Dullens and Maksovic each took straight-sets victories at No. 1 and 2, respectively.
“Denver played well today and we came out a bit tentative,” said USA women’s tennis Head Coach Jaco Keyser on the Denver Pioneers Web site.
“We didn’t play well in doubles. We battled back, but it is tough to lose like we did with Ana’s injury.”
Sackmaster was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after finishing 4-0 for the tournament (2-0 in both singles and doubles).
“We are all extremely excited about winning conference and now we are beginning to train for the NCAA tournament,” said Sackmaster.
“While we know that our competition will be tough, I think we all feel confident that we can continue our successful season into nationals,” she continued.
The Pioneers will face Michigan Saturday, with the winner advancing to take on the winner between Stanford and Quinnipiac. The Pioneers come into the tournament at No. 46.
