A solid performance for the triathlon team in South Dakota, a win and a draw for the women’s soccer squad and a finalist in the singles final for the men’s tennis squad.
Here’s what happened last week in University of Denver athletics.
Women’s Triathlon
After withdrawing from the Yellow Jackets Relays race on Saturday, the women’s triathlon squad competed in the Black Hills Collegiate Cup in South Dakota Sunday afternoon. The team placed three of their eight competitors in the top ten.
The success of the freshman class continues for the squad, as freshman Maira Carreau finished in second in the race. No Alex Campbell meant someone else needed to step up for the squad, and Carreau did just that, finishing only four seconds behind the winner.
Junior Clara Normand had the third best biking time and finished in 8th place while junior Olivia Ebenstein had the third best swimming time and finished right behind Normand in 9th place.
The squad’s next competition is a big one. The team will travel to the Eastern Regional Qualifier in Huddleston, Virginia to compete for a chance to go to the Collegiate National Championships. The qualifier takes place at Smith Mountain Lake State Park on Oct. 14.
Men’s Soccer
The Denver men’s soccer squad had two contests this past week; one on the road and one at home. They were in Pennsylvania Monday night battling against Pittsburgh University and ultimately fell 1-3 to the Panthers. They then flew back home to take on Summit League foe, Oral Roberts, Saturday night, and settled for a draw in the 1-1 contest.
In Monday’s match, Denver could not get any offense going early and Pittsburgh capitalized by scoring two goals in the first 14 minutes of the contest. A corner kick just two minutes later would cut the deficit to one though as junior defender Jason Belloli headed a beautiful corner from junior midfielder Sam Bassett into the top of the cage.
Pittsburgh scored another goal in the second half and forced DU’s second out of conference loss of the season.
Saturday’s match was a much different contest as both teams battled in back and forth action. Both teams had similar amounts of quality chances and opportunities to put the ball in the back of the net but could never gain an edge over each other.
Denver got on the board first at the 38 minute mark and an unlikely goal scorer was the one to do so. Sophomore midfielder David Biggers scored his first career collegiate goal after he took a dime from redshirt sophomore Ian Smith in the box and blasted a header past the Golden Eagles goalkeeper.
The lead for Denver almost lasted the entire game until Oral Roberts scored an equalizer at the 84 minute mark.
Denver and Oral Roberts will meet again at the end of the month on Oct. 28 at the Golden Eagles home stadium. In the meantime, DU travels to Missouri to take on the University of Kansas City Saturday night at 6 p.m. The game is available to stream on the Summit League Network.
Women’s Soccer
The DU women’s soccer squad took to the road this past week and split their Summit League slate. They were in Minnesota Thursday, taking on St.Thomas and defeated the Tommies, 2-1. They then made their way down to Nebraska on Sunday and reached a stalemate of 0-0 with the University of Nebraska Omaha.
Thursday’s contest was led by senior defender Jordan Crockett, who scored her first goal and recorded her second assist of the season.
Crockett perfectly fed graduate midfielder Kaityln Glover in the box at the 11 minute mark and watched as Glover finished her fifth goal of the season, tied for a team high.
St. Thomas tied the game at the 59 minute mark, but just five minutes later, Crockett would score the game winner for the Crimson and Gold. She took a free kick from just inside the right sideline and pinpointed a perfect ball into the back of the net.
DU did everything but score in Sunday’s draw against Omaha. DU had seven more shot attempts and two more shots on goal but could not finish in the back of the Mavericks net.
Freshman goalkeeper Molly Wissman recorded her fifth clean sheet of the season and stopped three shots in the contest.
The team travels back home this week to battle two more Summit League opponents. They will first match up against South Dakota State Thursday night at 7 p.m. Then, the Crimson and Gold will celebrate their seniors against South Dakota, Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m.
Men’s Tennis
The men’s tennis squad was back in Colorado Springs this past weekend taking part in the ITA Mountain Regional Championships.
Individually in the singles side of the tournament, junior Daniel Sancho Arbizu found great success, securing a berth in the championship round. He lost only one set en route to the finals, but ultimately fell to Stijin Paardekooper from Utah State in three sets. This performance secured him a bid into the ITA National Fall Championships and will compete in San Diego on Nov. 1-5.
The team did not find as much success in the doubles side as only one duo, Sancho Arbizu and senior Nicolas Herrero Cuesta advanced to the quarterfinals stage of the tournament. They fell to the ultimate champions of the tournament, heralding from the University of Utah.
Women’s Tennis
The women’s tennis squad was in Texas this past weekend and competed in the H-E-B Invitational hosted by Baylor University. The team competed in three days of action starting on Friday and finished with success on Sunday.
On day one, the team went 5-3 in doubles action. Sophomore Claudia Martinez de Velasco combined with sophomore Alice Otis to defeat their opponents from the University of Nebraska Lincoln, 6-1. On the singles side, the Crimson and Gold went 5-1 with three wins coming in straight sets.
Day two was not as successful on the doubles side as DU won three out of their seven matches. On the singles side they made up for it and picked up five wins in their eight matches. Sophomore Caroline Driscoll, freshman Karsyn Evans, Martinez de Valasco, and sophomore Anastasia Simonov each won their singles matches in straight sets.
Day three was the best day for singles matches as Denver only lost one match in their eight matches played. They weren’t as successful in doubles matches as they split the result, winning two games in four matches played.
In total, the team went 17-5 in singles matches and 10-9 in doubles matches.
The team has a week break and then will be back in action next week in San Diego, California at the San Diego Veterans Classic. Action starts on Oct. 13 and ends Oct. 15.
Women’s Volleyball
The Denver women’s volleyball team traveled to South Dakota this past week and split their two Summit League games. They defeated South Dakota State, 3-1, Thursday night and were swept by South Dakota Saturday afternoon.
The team scored their third straight Summit League victory in their close four set contest against South Dakota State. Denver won the first set, dropped the second, and rebounded to close out the match in the fourth set.
Graduate middle blocker Cadi Boyer continues to make a strong impact in her second season with the Crimson and Gold. Boyer registered a team high 12 kills and three aces in the contest and tied senior middle blocker Molly Mirabelli with a team high six blocks.
Saturday’s contest was a full 180 degree turn from Thursday’s, and Denver could not keep up with the Coyotes. They lost all three sets by eight or more points, which is the most they have lost by all season.
Graduate outside hitter Cassie Davis led the way with six kills and a block while Boyer and Mirabelli each had five kills and two blocks.
After improving and falling to 4-8 on the season, the team will look to rebound on the road in their next contest against St. Thomas on Thursday. They will quickly come back home to take on Kansas City, Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Both games are available to stream on the Summit League Network.
Men’s Golf
The men’s golf squad is competing in the Mark Simpson Invitational just 45 minutes north of DU in Erie. Round one and two action starts on Monday and round three action concludes Tuesday.
Men’s Hockey
Denver men’s hockey season gets underway Saturday and Sunday as the team travels out of the continental US to take on Alaska Fairbanks. Both games in the series begin at 7 p.m. and are available to listen to on Denver Sports 104.3 HD3.
