TULSA, Oklahoma – The No. 61-ranked University of Denver men's tennis team (15-8) fell 4-1 to No. 69 Drake in the 2023 Summit League Men's Tennis Championship match on Saturday.
 
Denver mounted comebacks across singles play but came up short in third-set battles.
 
Doubles:
Drake took the early 1-0 lead after winning the doubles point, though Denver captured the first win of the day in the No. 3 match. Junior Nicolas Herrero Cuesta and graduate student Conner Olsen won their second match of the tournament, breaking in their first return game and then adding another for a 5-2 lead and an eventual 6-3 win.
 
Both of Denver's Nos. 1 and 2 doubles teams earned breaks back during their matches but ultimately lost to give Drake the point.
 
Singles:
Denver found itself down sets and/or breaks at various points throughout singles but rallied back to keep the pressure on Drake.
 
The Bulldogs won the first singles match to complete on court 6, but Herrero Cuesta put Denver on the board with the only other match to wrap up in straight sets. The Denver junior was broken in the match's opening game, but he broke back with Drake's Matija Matic serving for it. Herrero Cuesta then broke again for a 6-5 lead and closed it out on serve. In the second set, he broke early and added a second for a 5-2 lead, finishing it out at 6-3.
 
Drake claimed the championship with wins in Nos. 3 and 5 singles, despite Denver's Olsen rallying back from a set down to force a tight third set on court 3. Junior Charlie Miller came out on top of a close first set and held a break lead in the third before conceding the match.
 
In No. 1 singles, sophomore Daniel Sancho Arbizu fell behind after losing the first set but kept things close and on serve in the second, breaking in the final game to force a third set. Again, the set would stay on serve until Drake's Jeremy Schifris took a 4-3 lead, though Sancho Arbizu leveled things at 4-4 and held a 5-4 lead when the Drake had secured the team victory.
 
Junior Peter Sallay 's dramatic comeback attempt was also cut short when the dual was decided before he could finish his No. 4 singles match. He lost the first set and was down a break in the second before rallying back to force a tiebreak and edging it out, 9-7. The third set stayed on serve and was at 3-all when it was left unfinished.
 
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