DENVER – The No. 43-ranked University of Denver men's tennis team (16-0, 0-0 Summit) finished its non-conference schedule with a 4-1 win against No. 62 Oregon outside at Denver Tennis Park on Friday afternoon.
 
With the win, Denver extended its unbeaten start to the 2024 season, now holding a 16-0 record to become the last remaining undefeated Division I team in the country.
 
Coach's Notes:
From head coach Drew Eberly: "I'm very, very proud of the guys today. That was one of the most complete team efforts that we've had all year. Oregon is a very good Pac-12 team with lots of experience, and our guys rose to the occasion, up and down the lineup. The energy was great. The crowd was great. I'm just really proud of the way that our guys competed.
 
"Going into Summit League play beginning on Sunday at 16-0 is something very special, and things will continue to ramp up. Everyone's going to give us their best shot, and we just have to compete hard and keep working as a team; and hopefully we'll keep getting the same results."
 
Doubles:
Denver started the day by winning the doubles point for the ninth match in a row. DU's No. 2 team of graduate student Marvin Schaber and junior Daniel Sancho Arbizu earned the first win, breaking in consecutive return games on its way to a 6-2 victory.
 
Oregon's No. 33-ranked No. 1 doubles team leveled the table at one match apiece, but Denver graduate student Anish Sriniketh and sophomore Raffaello Papajcik rallied from a break down at No. 3 doubles to win the final three games in clinching the point for DU.
 
Singles:
The Ducks evened up the dual at 1-all with a win at No. 4 singles, but DU retook the lead after Schaber took his No. 4 singles match in straight sets – his fifth in a row. The grad student jumped out to a 3-0 lead before ending up back on serve at 3-all, but broke once more to take the first set. He held a two-break lead in the second set before Oregon's Matthew Burton broke back once late, though Schaber would serve it out on his second attempt.
 
Just a few minutes later, Sancho Arbizu put Denver within a point of the victory with matching 6-3 sets at No. 2 singles. In the first set, he came back from an early break down at 1-2 and won the set's final four games. The second set remained on serve until he broke in his third return game and turned an eventual 5-2 lead into a 6-3 win.
 
With three matches complete and the Nos. 1 and 6 matches beginning third sets, all eyes turned to a second-set tiebreak in the No. 5 match. DU's Papajcik won the first set after trading breaks early before retaking a break lead at 5-3 and holding serve in the final game. The second set stayed on serve from the start all the way through to the breaker. Papajcik had the first minibreak lead, gave it back and then took another lead, 4-2 at the changeover. Oregon's Lenn Luemkemann tightened things up at 5-4, but Papajcik won both points on his serve to clinch the win.
 
The Nos. 1 and 6 matches were both abandoned with 1-0 leads for DU in the third set. Both Denver players captured their first sets, starting with senior Nicolas Herrero Cuesta in the top match. He broke twice in the first three games at No. 1 singles before his opponent, No. 124-ranked Quinn Vandecasteele, rallied back for 5-4. Herrero Cuesta locked down when needed to serve it out for a set lead. He again held a break lead early in the second set but ended up back on serve late before surrendering a break in the final game. He responded to losing the second set by breaking to start the third before the dual was clinched.
 
At No. 6 singles, senior Charlie Miller also won his first set after taking 4-1 and 5-2 leads before his opponent battled back on serve, but Miller broke again at 6-5 for a 7-5 win. Oregon's Ray Lo claimed a quick 4-1 lead in the second set on his way to a 6-2 second set. Miller was a point away from taking a 2-0 lead in the third set when the match was abandoned.
 
Up Next:
The University of Denver men's tennis team wraps up a three-match week with its Summit League opener against North Dakota on Sunday, March 31, at 10:30 a.m. MT at Denver Tennis Park.
 
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