DES MOINES, Iowa – The No. 52-ranked University of Denver women's tennis team (17-6, 6-0 Summit) won the 2024 Summit League Women's Tennis Championship with a 4-0 sweep over South Dakota on Saturday.
 
Denver has now won 10 consecutive Summit League titles, doing so in every season the championship has been contested since DU joined the Summit League in 2013-14. Saturday's result also keeps DU undefeated against Summit League opponents since the 2023-14 season.
 
With the win, Denver has secured an automatic berth into the NCAA National Tennis Championships, its 10^th in a row and its 13^th overall.
 
Doubles:
Denver secured the first point of the day with wins at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles, starting with another victory from graduate student Britt Pursell and junior Andrea Burguete Beltran on court 1. They raced out to a 5-0 lead before USD stayed alive with a late break, though the DU duo would serve it out on their next attempt.
 
The sophomore tandem of Caroline Driscoll and Louise Wikander faced a back-and-forth battle at No. 2 doubles, breaking in their first return game before going down a break at 2-4. They responded with four straight games won to clinch the point at 6-4.
 
Fellow sophomore Claudia Martinez de Velasco and Alice Otis were all level at 5-all at No. 3 doubles in a match that did not see either team break serve.
 
Singles:
DU took quick and early leads in all six singles matches, capturing every first set and either winning or holding the lead in five of the six second sets.
 
Burguete Beltran used to 6-1 sets at No. 1 singles to put Denver up 2-0 overall – improving on her 6-1 6-2 result in Friday's semifinal and losing just five games across both matches combined. Both sets followed similar score patterns with the DU junior taking a 5-1 lead and closing it out in the following game.
 
At No. 3 singles, Driscoll also won both of her sets by the same score, 6-2, and both in identical fashion. She broke in her first return game and backed it up with a hold for 3-0 before breaking once more in the eighth and final games.
 
Otis clinched the championship for Denver in the No. 5 slot. She exchanged breaks in the middle of the first set before going ahead a break at 5-4 and serving it out. The second started with three consecutive breaks for Otis, though USD's Grace Chaddick got one back to get to 5-1. Otis responded with one final break in what would be the last completed game of the tournament.
 
Pursell was two games from taking the No. 2 match when the dual was clinched. She broke in the third and fifth games of the first set and served it out at 6-2, then broke again to open the second set. South Dakota's Amanda de Olivera got back on equal terms at 2-2 where the set stayed on serve until it was abandoned.
 
In the No. 4 singles match, Wikander claimed her first set, 6-3, after getting the first break for a 4-2 lead and holding serve the rest of the way. She broke twice through the first three games of the second set, leading 3-0 when the match was abandoned.
 
Martinez de Velasco recovered from a break deficit to start her match to level the first set at 2-2 before trading break in the next two games again. She retook a break lead at 4-3, held for 5-3 and then broke once more to take it, 6-3. The second set proved to be more competitive, though the players again exchanged breaks in consecutive games early. The DU sophomore again went down a break at 1-3 and was broken once more for 2-5, though the set and match were not finished.
 
Up Next:
The University of Denver women's tennis team has earned the Summit League's automatic berth into the 2024 NCAA Women's Tennis Championship, set to begin on May 3-5. DU will await official selections to be announced during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, April 29, at 4:30 p.m. MT.
 
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