Denver Men's Tennis Claims 2014 Summit League Title

DENVER - The No. 1 seed University of Denver men's tennis team made it a dual championship season as it battled to a 4-1 victory over No. 3 seed Fort Wayne in the 2014 Summit League Tournament Final on Sunday at Colorado Athletic Club Monaco.

The Pioneers, who also claimed the Summit League regular-season title by virtue of their perfect 5-0 conference mark, receive an automatic berth to the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championship with the victory.

The 2014 NCAA Men’s Tennis Selection Show will air live on NCAA.com on Tuesday, April 29 at 3:00 p.m., MT.

Denver men’s tennis advanced to the conference championship game for the second straight season and the third time since 2008. This is DU’s second consecutive league title after a 4-0 win over Idaho at the 2013 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championships.

 

At the 2013 NCAA tournament, the Pioneers stunned the No. 15 Florida Gators with a 4-3 comeback victory, but fell to California 4-1 in the second round.

 

Overall as an athletic department, Denver has won a total of nine postseason league championships in 2013-14 over a group of four different conferences (Summit, NCHC, MPSF, BIG EAST) including women’s soccer, men’s soccer, hockey, men’s swimming, women’s swimming, men’s golf, women’s golf, men’s tennis and women’s tennis. In addition, the men’s lacrosse (BIG EAST) and women’s lacrosse (MPSF) each captured its conference’s regular season title and will enter their respective league tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.  Women’s gymnastics also earned an NCAA Tournament berth and skiing claimed the NCAA National Championship.

Denver battled through two matches to claim the doubles point. Freshman duo Eric Marbach (Naperville, Ill.) and Yannik James (St. Georges, Grenada) took the first win, defeating Connor Andrews and Karl Wangensten-Oye 8-4 in the No. 3 spot. No. 58 ranked pair of Henry Craig (Murietta, Calif.) and Alex Gasson (Alton, U.K.) clinched the doubles point for DU, beating Daniel Kang and Andres Cobos 8-6 in the No. 1 spot.

Diogo Rocha (Lisbon, Portugal) bettered Jonathan Raa 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 2 spot to garner the first singles win.

After Rocha’s quick win, Denver lost some momentum. Gasson got the Pioneers back on track, fighting to a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Cobos in the No. 3 spot. In a thrilling title-clincher, senior Alex Clinkenbeard (Loveland, Colo.) defeated Gerard Guell 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in the No. 3 spot.     

 

SUMMIT LEAGUE MEN’S FINAL RESULTS (SUNDAY)

Denver 4, IPFW 1

Colorado Athletic Club, Monaco, Denver, Colo.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

 

Singles

1. Daniel Kang (IPFW) def. Henry Craig (DU-M) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4

2. Diogo Rocha (DU-M) def. Jonathan Raa (IPFW) 6-0, 6-0

3. Alex Gasson (DU-M) def. Andres Cobos (IPFW) 6-3, 7-6

4. Alex Clinkenbeard (DU-M) def. Gerard Guell (IPFW) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1

5. Yannik James (DU-M) vs. Martin Muadi (IPFW) 6-1, 4-6, 1-0, unfinished

6. Aidan Talcott (DU-M) vs. Karl Wangensten-Oye (IPFW) 7-5, 2-2, 2-3, unfinished

 

Doubles

1. Henry Craig/Alex Gasson (DU-M) def. Daniel Kang/Andres Cobos (IPFW) 8-6

2. Diogo Rocha/Fabio Biasion (DU-M) vs. Martin Muadi/Gerard Guell (IPFW) 6-3, unfinished

3. Eric Marbach/Yannik James (DU-M) def. Connor Andrews/Karl Wangensten-Oye (IPFW) 8-4

 

Match Notes:

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,3,1,4)

-EXPERIENCE DENVER ATHLETICS-

 

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