LAS VEGAS – University of Denver men's tennis players Raffaello Papajcik and Daniel Sancho Arbizu will play each other for the singles title at the 2024 ITA Mountain Regional Championship, hosted by UNLV.
 
The DU junior and senior won three-set comeback battles in their semifinals on Monday. By way of advancing to the singles final, each earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Singles Championship, set for November 19-24.
 
No. 1-seeded Sancho Arbizu wrapped up his semifinal first, rebounding from a 6-0 loss in the first set to win the second set, 6-2, before taking the victory in a third-set tiebreak.
 
No. 10-seeded Papajcik also dropped his first set before turning the tables with a dominant win in a second set tiebreak. He carried that momentum into the third set, taking it 6-1 to book a spot in the final.
 
This will be the second-straight year that Sancho Arbizu has advanced to the ITA Mountain Regional final. The Denver senior fell in the title match in 2023 before advancing to the ITA National Fall Championships.
 
This will be Papajcik's first major individual collegiate final, doing so in his first main-draw appearance at the ITA Mountain Regional Championships.
 
This is the first time that two Denver players have met in the ITA Mountain Regional singles final.
 
Both Sancho Arbizu and Papajcik have now qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship for the first times in their careers.
 
Play concludes at the 2024 ITA Mountain Regional Championships on Tuesday with the singles and doubles finals.
 
MONDAY'S SINGLES RESULTS
Semifinal: [1] Daniel Sancho Arbizu def. [5] Berk Bugarikj (Utah): 0-6 6-2 7-6(3)
Semifinal: [10] Raffaello Papajcik vs. [6] Jett Middleton (Boise State): 4-6 7-6(0) 6-1
 
--

TUESDAY'S SINGLES SCHEDULE
FINAL: [1] Daniel Sancho Arbizu vs. [10] Raffaello Papajcik
 
Denver's Home for College Sports
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of DU's NCAA Division I sports
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Men's Tennis on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_MTennis on Twitter
Follow @DenverPioneers and @DU_MTennis on Instagram