Both tennis squads took part in conference tournament action, another victory for both lacrosse teams and a solid showcase from the men’s golf team.
Here’s what happened last week in University of Denver athletics.
Men’s & Women’s Tennis
The women’s squad was in Tulsa, Oklahoma this past weekend taking part in the Summit League Tournament and swept both their semifinals and finals matchups en route to capturing their ninth straight conference title. The men’s squad was also competing in their respective Summit League Tournament and fell short for the second year in a row against Drake University in the championship.
DU Tennis joined the conference in 2014 and has been dominating ever since. The women’s team has never lost a matchup against a Summit League opponent and has won every single regular season and conference title since their first season in 2014. A true under-the-radar, underappreciated dynasty in the sport of college tennis. The men’s squad has been no different as they have absolutely dominated the Summit League since 2014. They have won five out of nine conference titles and have also won eight regular season titles out of that timespan.
Starting out Friday, the women’s squad faced the University of Omaha-Nebraska in their semifinal matchup and defeated the Mavericks 4-0. Freshman Claudia Martinez de Velasco (Madrid, Spain) and sophomore Andrea Burguete Beltran (Burriana, Spain) defeated their opponents in the No. 2 doubles match, 6-3. Freshman Caroline Driscoll (Brookline, Mass.) alongside Wilkander also defeated their doubles opponent, 6-3 to earn the doubles point for Denver. Wilkander, Driscoll and senior Britt Pursell (Oceanside, Calif.) each won their singles matches in straight sets to help capture the last three winning points of the match. Pursell and Driscoll only dropped two points in their second set en route to the sweeping victory.
On Saturday, the team faced the University of North Dakota in the championship matchup of the conference tournament and defeated the Fighting Hawks, 4-0. The same two doubles pairs, Martinez de Velasco, Burguete Beltran and Driscoll and Wilkander, swept their doubles matchups to win the doubles point. Melville, Burguete Beltran and Pursell won their singles matches in straight sets to seal the deal for the Crimson and Gold. Pursell did not drop a point in her victory and Melville only dropped one point in the second set.
Moving to the men’s side of the tournament, DU also took on Omaha in their semifinal matchup. It was a much closer contest and it came down to the wire before Denver prevailed 3-2. Junior Peter Sallay (Budapest, Hungary) and redshirt senior Anish Sriniketh (Katy, Texas) started off the contest by winning their doubles matchup. Cuesta Herrero and graduate student Conner Olsen (Orono, Minn.) combined to win the No. 3 doubles match and earn the doubles point for the Crimson and Gold. Cuesta Herrero won his singles match in straight sets while Sally and Sancho Arbizu took three sets to win their singles match en route to capturing the victory over the Mavericks. Cuesta Herrero only dropped three points in two sets to win the singles matchup.
It was a quest for revenge on Saturday in the championship for the men’s squad. Last year, the team was defeated in the championship for the second time in the last three seasons by the Drake Bulldogs. But ultimately the desire for revenge was cut short, and Denver fell 4-1 in the final. Drake would handle the Crimson and Gold in the doubles matchups and earned the point after defeating the No. 1 and No. 2 pairs. Cuesta Herrero and Olsen were able to win their No. 3 doubles match, 6-3. The only point of the contest for Denver would come in the No. 2 singles match from player of the year Cuesta Herrero who defeated his opponent in straight sets. Sallay almost came back in the No. 4 singles match, winning the second straight in a tiebreaker. But the match was forced to be unfinished before Sallay could make headway in the third and final set and the Bulldogs officially defeated Denver for the second year in a row.
After their impressive showing at the championships, the women’s squad has earned an auto bid into the NCAA Championships. They await their placement in the 64-team bracket that will be announced on Monday, May 1 by the NCAA. The championships take place in Orlando, Fla. on May 17-27 for both the women’s and men’s teams.
Women’s Lacrosse
The No. 3 women’s lacrosse squad improved to 16-0 on Senior day Saturday afternoon, trouncing Georgetown University 15-2. It was a complete defensive effort for DU as they allowed the least amount of goals from their opponents this season and the least amount of shots, only allowing 10 shot-attempts. Sophomore attack Lauren Black (New Westminster, B.C) picked up her fourth hat trick of the season in the contest, and junior attack Sloane Kipp (Dallas, Texas) registered her fifth straight game with a hat trick. The team only allowed one goal in the first half and went into the halftime intermission with a wide ten-goal lead. They would not allow a goal until the middle of the fourth quarter to make the final score 15-2. The team will look to conclude the regular season undefeated with their last game against Marquette University on Saturday in Wisconsin.
Men’s Lacrosse
The No.10 men’s lacrosse squad continued their four-game winning streak Friday night and delivered a win amidst snowy conditions in honor of their seniors who were celebrated on Senior night. The team defeated Providence University 13-6 in the victory. One of the fifteen seniors honored Friday night was senior attack JJ Sillstrop (Encinitas, Calif.) who led the way offensively for Denver and scored four goals in the contest. Senior attack Richie Connell (Evergreen, Colo.) scored two goals and added an assist to his impressive senior season. DU started hot right out of the gate and scored six goals in the first quarter and only allowed two. They were also great defensively and were perfect in clearances, going 21 for 21. They also only allowed 11 shots on goal in the contest and forced one more turnover than the Friars. After their final home game of the season, the team will travel to Wisconsin to take on Marquette University on Friday in what will be the final regular season game of the season.
Women’s Golf
The women’s golf squad will be in Lincoln, Nebraska this week taking part in the Summit League Championships. Round one starts Sunday and will conclude Tuesday afternoon. DU will look to defend their title for their fourth straight season and last year’s championships MVP senior Anna Zanusso (Castelfranco Veneto, Italy) will look to win her second straight award.
Men’s Golf
The men’s squad was in Provo, Utah competing in the Ping Cougar Classic hosted by Brigham University. The team had one of the more solid outings of the spring season, finishing eighth out of 16 teams with a score of 12 strokes under par. Freshman Jack Dozer (Phoenix, Ariz.) had his best tournament of the spring season shooting an impressive 67 in the final round to lift him to a 17th-place finish. Sophomore Alex Gibalevich (Studio City, Calif.) also had a solid tournament, shooting three strokes under par final score on the weekend to place him in 32nd place in the field. The team will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska next Sunday with hopes to defend their title in the Summit League Championships.
