A thrilling comeback victory for the men’s lacrosse team, a big two wins for the women’s basketball team and another great meet performance for the women’s gymnastics squad.
Here’s what happened last week in University of Denver athletics.
Men’s Lacrosse
The Matt Brown era for DU’s men’s lacrosse program is off to an electrifying start.
A thrilling comeback victory against No. 5 John Hopkins on Saturday was one of the best season-opener games in program history. No. 12 DU defeated the Blue Jays, 13-12 in overtime.
Denver was down three with less than four minutes to go in the contest. The small amount of time and wide deficit proved to be no challenge for the Crimson and Gold and graduate attack JJ Sillstrop who would go on to score three unanswered goals to bring the game back to a tie. His last goal in regulation was a buzzer-beater from long distance that beat the Blue Jays’ goalkeeper low.
Sillstrop was not done yet and two minutes into overtime, fired a low-to-high bullet to give Brown and Denver their first win of the season. Sillstrop completed his first sock trick (six goals in one game) of his career and is now only seven goals away from becoming the ninth DU lacrosse player to hit 100 career goals in program history.
Denver’s fanbase will get to witness Brown’s first career home game as Head Coach this Saturday at Peter Barton Stadium against Air Force. The game is slated for a noon start.
Women’s Basketball
Denver women’s basketball captured two big Summit League victories this week and improved to 3-6 in conference play. DU defeated Kansas City at home 65-50 on Thursday and Oral Roberts 102-92 on Saturday.
A big second half from Denver highlighted Thursday’s contest. After going down two heading into the second frame, Denver would go on to outscore Kansas City 37-20 to lift them to a wide victory. Sophomore guard Jordan Jones had 20 points and six rebounds in the contest while graduate forward Makayla Minett recorded another double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The scoring output almost doubled in Saturday’s game and Denver shot very well from deep. DU recorded a season-high .552 shooting percentage from behind the three-point line and tied their season high of 16 three-pointers. Jones led the way again in scoring for Denver with 24 points while sophomore guard Aneglina Robles also greatly contributed with 22 points and four assists.
Denver will stay at home for Thursday’s contest against South Dakota and go on the road for Saturday’s matchup against St.Thomas. Thursday’s matchup at Hamilton Gymnasium is set for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
Men’s Basketball
The men’s basketball squad picked up two losses on the road this week against Kansas City and Oral Roberts. DU lost to the Roos 71-85 on Thursday and the Golden Eagles 76-82 on Saturday.
Denver never could recapture their early lead in Thursday’s contest against Kansas City and fell down by 14 for most of the second half. Junior forward Touko Tainamo dropped a team-high 21 points in the loss and added five rebounds and four assists.
It was a game of ups and downs in Saturday’s contest in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Denver was down by 18 at one point in the first half but stormed back to a 10-point lead in the second. The lead did not last long though as Oral Roberts outscored Denver 34-18 to end the game. Fifth-year guard Tommy Bruner recorded 22 points and four assists in the contest.
DU will split their conference slate this week in terms of location. They will be in South Dakota on Thursday taking on the South Dakota Coyotes and will be back home at Hamilton Gymnasium on Saturday against St. Thomas. Saturday’s tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Women’s Gymnastics
Denver gymnastics cruised to a dual meet victory Sunday after they hosted Towson University at Magness Arena. The Crimson and Gold defeated Towson 198.000-195.600.
That 198.000 score is the second-highest score in program history behind their score in last year’s meet against Towson.
As a team, Denver excelled in the uneven bars event and recorded their highest team score in an event all year. Five of the six participants recorded 9.900 scores or above to lift DU to their 49.700 team score. Sophomore Kiley Rorich and junior Mia Hebinck each recorded a near-perfect 9.975 score which is the highest of their career.
Individually, senior Jessica Hutchinson picked up another all-around title with a solid 39.700 score. She also bested her career-high score on the uneven bars event with a 9.975 and won the floor event with a 9.950.
Senior Rylie Mundell returned to all-around action for the second time this season and outdid her previous score by .350. Mundell picked up a vault event win with a 9.900 score and shared the beam event win with Hutchinson.
After recording their highest score of the season, the squad will stay at home and host their next meet on Sunday. They will welcome Iowa State and Southeast Missouri State for their next Magness Arena meet.
Men’s Hockey
The No. 5 men’s hockey squad split their home NCHC series against No. 15/14 Western Michigan this past weekend. Denver won 3-2 on Friday night and was handed a 2-7 loss on Saturday night.
Denver scored the first two goals in the first period of Friday’s contest. Freshman forward Alex Weiermair picked up his first career goal via a tipped shot from sophomore forward Tristan Lemyre. The eventual game winner would go to junior defenseman Shai Buium who fired a wrist shot just a little over a minute into the third period.
DU’s effort did not translate to Saturday’s game and Western Michigan scored five unanswered goals after DU’s opening goal in the first minute of the game. Junior forward Jack Devine assisted on both of Denver’s goals in the matchup.
DU will hit the road next weekend for their first and only series against Minnesota Duluth. Next Friday’s game is scheduled to be broadcast on CBS Sports Network and puck drop is slated for 7 p.m.
Men’s Tennis
DU men’s tennis hosted two matches this weekend at Denver Tennis Park and picked up two meet wins against Utah and UTSA on Friday and Sunday.
On Friday, DU welcomed Utah and swept them 4-0. DU picked up the doubles points thanks to victories from graduate students Anish Sriniketh and Marvin Schaber and another duo Rikuto Yamaguchi and Nicolas Herrero Cuesta. On the singles side, the other three points would come from two set wins from Schaber, Herrero Cuesta and junior Daniel Sancho Arbizu.
Denver improved to 5-0 after Sunday’s 5-2 victory against UTSA. Yamguchi and Herrereo Cuesta picked up a 7-5 doubles victory and senior Peter Sallay combined with sophomore Raffaello Papajcik to capture the doubles point for Denver. Herrero Cuesta, Sriniket, and Schaber won their singles matches in straight sets while Sancho Arbizu captured his match win in the third set via a 12-10 tiebreaker.
Denver will compete in two more matches this weekend. They will stay at home for Thursday’s match against Idaho State and travel to Logan, Utah to take on Utah State on Sunday.
Women’s Tennis
The women’s tennis squad also hosted two matches this week against Kansas State and Iowa and picked up two more match wins to improve to 4-2 on the season.
In Friday’s match against Kansas State, DU’s first point came from the doubles matchups. Sophomores Caroline Driscoll and Louise Wikander combined for a 6-3 victory while sophomores Claudia Martinez de Velasco and Alice Otis won their match 6-1 to earn the first point. On the singles side, two sweeps from Wikander and graduate student Britt Pursell lifted the Crimson and Gold to a 4-2 win.
In the 4-1 victory against Iowa, the doubles point belonged to Denver once again. The Driscoll-Wikander duo picked up a 7-5 victory and Pursell combined with junior Andrea Burguete Beltran to capture a 6-3 win. On the singles side, Wilkander won her match in straight sets while Driscoll and Pursell won their matches in three sets.
Denver will travel to Oregon this weekend for two matchups in Eugene. They will take on Portland University on Saturday and the University of Oregon on Sunday.
Swim and Dive
Denver’s divers traveled down the I-25 corridor to Colorado Springs to take part in the Air Force Diving Invite hosted by the Falcons. The divers competed in three days of action over the weekend.
Day one of the invite belonged to senior Oliva Gordon. Gordon recorded two NCAA Zone Cuts in the 1-meter preliminaries and finals of the event. Gordon won the prelims but fell to third place in the finals. Junior Nathan Cox was the highest placer on the men’s side and placed fifth in the men’s 3-meter finals.
Day two was another solid day for Denver and three divers placed in the top ten over two different events. Gordon continued her strong invite with another prelim win but fell to fifth place in the finals of the 3-meter event. On the men’s side, junior Zyad Morsy posted two NCAA Zone Cuts and placed third in the men’s 1-meter finals. Sophomore Dakotah Parker finished ninth in the same event.
Morsy ended the meet on a high note on day three and recorded two more NCAA Zone Cuts. He won the prelim stage for the Platform event but fell to fourth in the finals.
Denver’s swimmers will compete this week at the First Chance Invitational in El Pomar Natatorium on Friday and Saturday. This is the last regular season meet of the season.
Skiing
Denver skiing competed in the RMISA Alpine Qualifier and Colorado Invitational in Steamboat Springs last week. The skiers also got to preview the courses for the NCAA Championships which will be held in Steamboat at the start of March.
At the RMISA Alpine Qualifier on Thursday, five Denver skiers placed in the top ten of the giant slalom races. On the men’s side, senior Trey Seymour led the way with a fourth place finish. Junior Cooper Cornelius followed behind Seymour with a sixth place finish and sophomore Adrian Minde Hunshammer finished in eighth. On the women’s side, sophomore Sara Rask and senior Nora Brand finished fifth and ninth respectively.
DU picked up a second place team finish in the Colorado Invitational, hosted and won by the University of Colorado. Three Denver skiers came away with race victories over the two days of action. Junior Andreas Kirkeng won the men’s 20k classic race alongside the men’s 7.5K freestyle race. Brand picked up an event win in the women’s slalom race and Cornelius picked up his first collegiate race win in the giant slalom event.
Denver will host their next race this week at Loveland Ski Area in Dillon. The slalom races are scheduled for Monday through Tuesday, and the Nordic events are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
