The opening matches for the spring season were picture perfect for the University of Denver tennis program as the men beat Bringham Young University and Utah State while the women dealt losses to both the University of Colorado and New Orleans.
“Our victories over BYU and Utah State were a perfect way to start our season,” said men’s coach Geoff Young. “BYU was ranked No. 61 in the country and is probably our best win to date since turning Division 1 six years ago. And then to come out against a tough Utah State team the following night and beat them as handily as we did shows maturity.”
The men’s victory over BYU placed the Pioneers at No. 69 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division 1 team poll.
This is the first time the men’s team has been ranked nationally since switching to Division 1. A part of their superb start to the season can be attributed to the off-season work ethic of some of the players.
“Nejc Smole has made the biggest leap in singles and Hans Peter Gaber has made the biggest leap in doubles,” said Young. “Steve Flaks, a sophomore from Colorado Springs, has also made a leap from where he was a year ago. All of these guys have developed an increased awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to play accordingly.”
Although every match is crucial, Young wants his team to be playing solid tennis right before the end of the season.
That is also close to the time when they will move play outdoors.
“Two months from now I see us getting very comfortable with playing outdoors,” said Young. “There is an adjustment period from going indoors to outdoors. Our philosophy is to gear everything so that we peak during the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.”
The women’s team also moved up in the ITA Division 1 team poll after defeating the University of Colorado.
The victory over the 44th ranked Buffaloes propelled the Pioneers from the season opening spot at No. 75 to No. 56.
Another positive result of the win over CU is that they are in-state competition.
“One of our team goals is to beat the rival universities within the state of Colorado,” said junior Yanick Dullens. “As a matter of fact, we beat the University of Colorado for the first time in 25 years. This brings us to one of our other goals, which is to maintain a ranking in the top 50. But, the main goal of this season is to win the Sunbelt Conference tournament in May. This is one of my personal goals as well because winning the conference tournament means playing in the regional NCAA tournament.”
Dullens, who won all four of her matches at No.1 singles in the first two games, found herself ranked at No. 80 in the ITA singles poll.
“The conference tournament will be ahead of us and everything will be focused on that,” said Dullens. “I hope to see [us] maintain our ranking in the top 50 so that we will get a good seed in the conference tournament.”
Up next for the women is a trip to Utah where they will face BYU on Feb. 14 in Provo and the University of Utah on Feb. 15 in Salt Lake City.
The men will also head west to Malibu, California, to battle Pepperdine on Saturday and Saint Mary’s on Sunday.
