Denver men’s and women’s tennis programs will finish out regular season play before preparing for the Summit League Championships, scheduled April 28 to May 1 in Omaha, Nebraska.
The men’s tennis program holds a 13-7 record thus far in the spring season. The No. 48 ranked Denver Pioneers, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), are currently placed second behind Oral Roberts University within the Summit League standings.
With five matches remaining before the Summit League Championships, the Pioneers will face four Summit League opponents and finish regular competition out in Albuquerque, New Mexico on April 24.
Junior Diogo Rocha (Lisbon, Portugal) received his seventh career Summit League Player of the Week award and second of the 2016 season following his singles and doubles wins against California Polytechnic State University and the University of California at Santa Barbara. Rocha’s collection of his seventh honor tied him for the second most throughout Summit League history.
The Pioneers returned from Sioux Falls, South Dakota on April 2 with a win over South Dakota State University. Denver finished 5-1 in singles and 2-0 in doubles play.
Denver hosts Summit League opponent Oral Roberts University on April 8 at 1 p.m.
The women’s tennis program boasts a 16-2 spring season record, including a 2-0 mark against Summit League opponents. The Pioneers are currently sitting in first place in the Summit League and No. 33 by the ITA.
The Pioneers’ two Summit League victories resulted in convincing wins over South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University.
“The girls are looking forward to taking on our third Summit League opponent this weekend,” said head coach Christian Thompson in an interview. “We are very fortunate to be standing where we are right now with a great non-conference season behind us and starting out 2-0 in the Summit League. Indiana University-Purdue University (IUPUI) is well coached. We need to stay in the moment this weekend and go into each match with intensity, discipline and grit.”
After sweeping both singles and doubles play, sophomore Julia O’Loughlin (Highland Beach, Florida) picked up her second career Summit League Player of the Week honor, both of which occurred in this season.
The Pioneers traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana where they beat IUPUI for their third contest against a Summit League opponent on April 2 and 3. Denver ended 5-1 in singles and 2-1 in doubles matches.
Denver will host the University of Nebraska-Omaha on April 9 at 10 a.m. and honor the team’s two seniors, Charlotte Derbyshire (Stockton, England) and Evy Van Genechten (Antwerp, Belgium).
