DENVER – The University of Denver women's tennis team (1-7, 0-0 Summit) got off to a quick start in its 2025 home opener against BYU but fell, 3-4, on Sunday afternoon.
 
Denver went up 3-0 overall before BYU began its comeback. The dual came down to a third set in the No. 3 singles match where junior Marley Lambert held match points late but was unable to convert and ultimately dropped the match in a tiebreaker.
 
Doubles:
DU continued to build momentum in doubles together, winning the points off victories on the top two courts. For the fifth time during the dual season, Denver's top team of Lambert and senior Andrea Burguete Beltran posted a win, breaking to begin the match and eventually taking a 5-1 lead on their way to a 6-2 win.
 
Juniors Claudia Martinez de Velasco and Louise Wikander clinched the doubles point, winning their team-best sixth dual match together. They started with a break in the third game and turned it into a 5-2 lead. After being broken on a deuce point when trying to serve it out the first time, they regrouped to take it at 6-4.
 
Freshman Natálie Cinková and junior Hana Bečirovič Novak had just broken for a 5-4 lead and were three points away from the win at No. 3 doubles when the point was clinched, leaving their match unfinished.
 
Singles:
Bečirovič Novak won her fourth dual singles match to give DU a 2-0 lead at No. 5 singles. She quickly captured a 4-0 lead in the opening set. She gave one of the breaks back but immediately went back up by two breaks for 5-2 and successfully served it out in the following game. The second set started a bit tighter before the DU junior went up a break and won the final three games to seal it.
 
Just a few minutes later and on a neighboring court, Martinez de Velasco also won in straight sets, dropping only one game more than Bečirovič Novak. Like her teammate, she broke three games into the match and added an insurance break for 5-2. Her opponent broke on her first attempt to serve it out, but Martinez de Velasco responded with her own break at love to win the set. She carried that momentum into the second set, racing out to a 5-0 lead before her opponent got on the board. In a similar manner to the first set, Martinez de Velasco was unable to serve it out but immediately broke again to take the win.
 
BYU's first point of the day came at No. 6 singles in the last match to end in straight sets. All three of the top singles contests went into deciding sets after the players split 6-4 and 6-3 sets on all courts.
 
The Cougars took a 6-2 third set at No. 2 singles and tied up the scoreboard at 3-3 with a critical break late in the final set of No. 1 singles. Burguete Beltran had two break opportunities in the final game but could not convert, giving the match to her opponent.
 
The dual came down to No. 3 singles, which was a back-and-forth battle. DU's Lambert broke in her first return game of the final set and held the lead until the eighth game, which featured the first of three consecutive breaks. Both players held at 40-15 in their final service games, sending the match to a tiebreak. After the players split the first two points, BYU's Kovick sealed the win with six straight points to take it, 7-1.
 
Up Next:
The University of Denver women's tennis team continues its home-opening weekend at Denver Tennis Park when it hosts Colorado State on Sunday, February 16, at 10 a.m. MT.
 
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 Women's Tennis on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_WTennis on Twitter
Follow @DenverPioneers and @DU_WTennis on Instagram