After returning from an abrupt end to the 2020 season, Denver men’s tennis lost two close games to No. 6 TCU and No. 12 Wake Forest.
DU was coming off a successful, although abbreviated, 2020 season where they ended with a 21-1 record and a .923 winning percentage. The team finished No. 45 in the nation last year and at their peak were ranked No. 35.
Denver faced the No. 6 team in the country on the first day of the ITA Kick-Off and lost 5-0 after several tight matches. However, freshman Nicolas Herrero Cuesta (Segovia, Spain) and graduate student Ignacio Rivero Crespo (Mallorca, Spain) defeated the TCU combo of Bertus Kruger (Johannesburg, South Africa) and Juan Martin (General Villegas, Argentina) to take home DU’s first doubles win of the season. The other doubles matches were nail biters with both ending in tiebreakers and a TCU win.
TCU also dominated the singles matches with four definitive victories. Freshman Peter Sallay (Budapest, Hungary) had his first singles set win of his college career, but he was unable to secure a match victory, as TCU won additional singles matches before Sallay’s were finished. Before Sallay could get the win, the Horned Frogs took home the 5-0 victory.
Denver then faced No. 12 Wake Forest on Sunday in the tournament’s consolation match where they fell 4-2. DU had two crucial doubles wins with senior Matia Ros (Latisana, Italy) and his partner Sallay taking home one victory and the No. 42 ranked tandem of seniors Matt Summers (Maidstone, U.K.) and James Davis (Barnstaple, England) taking home the other.
However, Wake Forest pulled ahead in the singles and won the first singles competition of the day to tie the match 1-1. Denver had their final victory of the tournament when Davis defeated junior Melios Efstathiou (Limassol, Cyprus) with 6-1 and 6-2 set scores, but after Davis’ win, the Demon Deacons proceeded to take home definitive victories in the final singles matches of the day.
Denver looks to come back as they face the Air Force on Jan. 29 on their home court.
