A rain-filled victory for the men’s lacrosse team, a top-ten upset for the women’s lacrosse team and another conference championship for the women’s golf squad.
Here’s what happened last week in DU Athletics.
Men’s Lacrosse
Rain and lightning could not stop the No. 5/6 men’s lacrosse team from dismantling Marquette University 15-9 on Friday night. The game was delayed over two hours but fans who stuck around at Peter Barton Stadium saw a solid Denver performance.
DU scored seven seconds into the game and never relinquished their lead. After taking a 7-5 lead at halftime, the Crimson and Gold scored five unanswered goals in the third quarter to lift them to their fifth straight Big East conference victory.
Denver forced three more turnovers and collected eight more ground balls than the Golden Eagles in the win.
Redshirt freshman Cody Malawsky had a big night, recording four goals of five shots on goal, the first four-goal outing of Malawsky’s career. Graduate attack Richie Connell also had a solid night, scoring his second hat trick of the season.
DU finished 5-0 in conference play and heads into the Big East conference tournament as the No. 1 seed. DU will take on the No. 4 seed, Villanova, on Thursday in the semifinals at 3:30 p.m. in Pennsylvania. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.
Women’s Lacrosse
No. 12/14 DU women’s lacrosse picked up their last out-of-conference victory on Monday on the road and upset No. 8 Yale University. A back-and-forth match led to a narrow 12-11 win for the Crimson and Gold.
After Denver tied the game 4-4 at the 10-minute mark of the second quarter, the Bulldogs scored two goals to end the first half to give them the lead. Yale scored again to open the second half, but Denver went on a four-goal run to give them their first lead of the half.
Four Yale goals and three Denver goals later brought the score to a tie at 11, with less than five minutes to go.
Yale got possession during the last minute of the quarter and fired a shot that was denied by junior goalkeeper Emelia Bohi. Denver cleared the ball and gave themselves the last opportunity to score the game-winning goal. After controlled ball movement, Yale transfer Olivia Penoyer fed the ball inside past her former team to junior attack Lauren Black, who buried the game-winning goal with 1.4 seconds left on the clock.
Black had one of the best games of her career, finishing with five goals and three assists. Graduate attack Julia Gilbert and junior midfield Caroline Colimore each recorded a hat trick in the victory.
The good feelings of Monday’s upset were supposed to trickle into Saturday’s Senior Day game against Xavier University, but was unfortunately canceled due to the snow and wet conditions.
The women’s team also goes into the Big East Tournament as the No. 1 seed and will take on the No. 4 seeded Villanova Wildcats. The team will travel to Cincinnati, Ohio and play in the semifinal matchup on Thursday at 11 a.m.
Women’s Golf
DU women’s golf captured their fifth consecutive Summit League Conference championship last week in Mayetta, Kansas. Round one action began on April 21 and round three concluded on April 23.
DU absolutely dominated the field and was the only team who finished with a score under par. Denver finished -14 as a team, and the next best finisher was Oral Roberts, who finished 42 strokes behind at +28.
The Crimson and Gold fielded five players and each finished in the top ten individually. The individual champion was junior Clara Gestsdottir who finished six under par, barely edging out fellow junior teammate Emma Bryant, who finished five under par.
Graduate student Anna Zanusso finished tied for third with a score of three under par. Last year’s Summit League individual winner Anna Krekling finished in sixth and senior Katarina Drocarova rounded out the Denver field in seventh.
The Crimson and Gold now moves on to the NCAA Tournament and will play in the regionals matchup on May 6-8. Denver will compete against 11 other schools in East Lansing, Mich. and if Denver places in the top five of the regional, they will move on to the Championships on May 17-22 in Carlsbad, Calif.
Men’s Golf
Denver’s quest for a Summit League Championship started yesterday in Sellersburg, Ind. The final round of the tournament will end on Tuesday. Live scoring of the championships is available at golfstat.com.
Tennis
The NCAA Selection Show was on Monday night and each DU team was selected to the post-season tournament after earning an auto bid for winning the Summit League.
The men’s team was selected in the Harvard regional and will play Michigan State in their opening round, while the women’s team was selected in the UCLA regional and will play the No. 8 overall seed Bruins on their home court. Both matches will happen on either Friday or Saturday, with times TBA. Check the DU athletic website for an updated schedule.
