SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The University of Denver women's tennis team (6-8, 3-0 Summit) came up just short, 3-4, in a hard-fought match at UTSA on Sunday afternoon.
 
DU won the day's first two points before UTSA leveled the match at 2-2. Senior Andrea Burguete Beltran put the Pioneers within a point of the win at 3-3 before the Roadrunners won the final two singles matches, clinching in in a third set on court 6.
 
Doubles:
Denver continued to excel in doubles, winning the point for the eighth match in a row. Burguete Beltran and junior Marley Lambert captured their 10 win in dual match play to get things started, posting a 6-2 victory on the top court. UTSA stayed alive with a late run at No. 2 doubles, but Denver secured the point in a tiebreak in the final remaining court. Junior Hana Bečirovič Novak and freshman Natálie Cinková rallied from a break down at 2-4 to get into the breaker and were able to come away with the win, 7-4.
 
Singles:
Bečirovič Novak kept things rolling with a quick finish in singles, losing just two games for the second time in her last three matches and equaling her best dual-match performance so far. For the second dual in a row, she opened with a bagel in the first set as part of a 10-game win streak that netted her a 4-0 lead in the second. A couple holds later, and she gave DU a 2-0 lead on the team scoreboard.
 
UTSA put up its first point with a win at No. 2 singles by way of an injury retirement in the second set. The host then leveled the dual at 2-2 after claiming the No. 4 match as well.
 
Burguete Beltran got Denver back on track with her fifth straight-sets win in a row. After the first set started on serve, the DU senior went up a break at 4-2 and though her opponent got a break back, Burguete Beltran broke for a second time to take the set, 6-4. The second set stayed tight until very late when Burguete Beltran broke in the penultimate game and successfully served it out.
 
A few minutes later, UTSA again got back on level terms, winning No. 5 singles and leaving the No. 6 match to determine the results. Cinková split results over the first two sets, taking the opening frame in comfortable fashion before giving up two breaks late in the second to find herself in the deciding set. UTSA broke twice early in the third and had chances to serve it out before the Denver freshman began to fight back, rallying from 1-5 down to get to 4-5 but was unable to hold off her opponent in one final game.
 
Up Next:
The University of Denver women's tennis team has a bye week before heading to the East Coast for three matches in four days, beginning with a trip to Columbia on Wednesday, March 26.
 
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