DENVER - The University of Denver men's tennis team lost in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, hosted by the University of South Alabama. The No. 7 seed Pioneers lost to No. 2 Middle Tennessee State, 4-1.

In a shortened match, Denver (9-10) lost two matches on the doubles court, before losing at No. 1, 5 and 6 on the singles. Following those victories, Middle Tennessee earned four points, enough for the match victory, so the match was called, giving MTSU the 4-1 win.

The Pioneers (9-10) will play move into the backdraw of the championships and play the loser of today's University of Louisiana-Lafayette/New Mexico State University match. That match will take place Saturday (Apr. 21) at 8 a.m. MDT. Should the Pioneers win in the backdraw, Denver would play on Sunday at 8 a.m. MDT for fifth place. Should the Pioneers lose, Denver would play again on Saturday at 3 p.m. MDT for seventh place.

Match Results

Singles
Daniel Klemetz (MTSU) def. Boris Turkic, 6-3, 7-6
Tomasz Wawrzyniak (DEN) def. Robert Gustafsson
Magnus Ramfelt (DEN) dnf Oliver Foreman
Jay Patel (DEN) dnf Michael Staniak
Kirk Jackson (MTSU) def. Trevor Young, 6-3, 6-2
Trevor Short (MTSU) def. Mike Ceilley, 6-0, 6-1

Doubles
Gustafsson/Foreman (MTSU) def. Turkic/Wawrzyniak, 8-3
Young/Ramfelt (DEN) dnf Klemetz/Staniak
Short/Mark Pellerin (MTSU) def. Ceilley/Patel, 8-2