Denver’s tennis programs are eager for spring competition to begin after both the men’s and women’s teams achieved successful fall seasons.
Denver men’s tennis won the Mountain Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regional Championships with first place finishes from singles competitor, Diogo Rocha (Lisbon, Portugal), along with doubles Henry Craig (Murrieta, California) and Alex Gasson (Alton, United Kingdom).
The Pios enter the 2016 season ranked No. 52.
Rocha registers at No. 45 out of 125 among the singles rankings and doubles team Craig and Gasson are ranked 11th out of 60 doubles.
Denver men’s tennis team traveled to Columbus, Ohio on Jan. 23-24 to face the University of South Carolina and Ohio State University.
Rocha and Craig’s singles match wins aided in the Pioneers’ victory over No. 51 ranked South Carolina.
The following day the Pios fell to No. 9 ranked Ohio State.
The Pioneers head to Lincoln on Jan. 29 to face the University of Nebraska Huskers.
During the fall season, Denver’s women’s tennis team had three out of four Pios qualify for the semifinals, marking as the best result Denver has ever had at the ITA Mountain Regionals.
Sophomore Julia O’Loughlin (Highland Beach, Florida) was the sole player for Denver to advance to the finals of the ITA Mountain Regionals tournament. Followed by qualifying for ITA Regional Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada on Oct. 19, her fall performance earned her a ranking of 62 out of 125 for singles.
“I am feeling very excited for the upcoming season. I am going to get the opportunity to compete at the No. 1 singles position, which I have been working at for a while,” said O’Loughlin.
O’Loughlin also checks in with a No. 44 out of 60 ranking with her doubles partner, Maureen Slattery (Newport, Virginia).
“The main things that we have been focusing on practice wise are cutting down [our] unforced errors and getting the ball out of the middle of the court. If we lose matches we want it to be because the other team was better than us, not because of things we can control, such as unforced errors,” said O’Loughlin.
The Pios’ spring season began at the Long Beach Invitational on Jan. 15-17 where O’Loughlin and Slattery won in a scrimmage match over Long Beach State.
Denver women’s tennis program headed to Tennessee to compete against the University of Memphis and then travel to Nashville for the 2016 ITA Kickoff Tournament on Jan. 23-25.
O’Loughlin and freshman Bianca Mok (Boise, Idaho) won their singles matches over Memphis and the following day in Nashville against Penn State who was ranked No. 49.
Slattery’s successes additionally helped the Pios upset Penn State in the consolation round of the tournament.
The Pios host Boise State on Jan. 29 at 4 p.m. at the Denver Country Club.
