SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 70-ranked University of Denver men's tennis team (9-6, 0-0 Summit) found itself in a battle at No. 56 Utah on Sunday and came up just short, 3-4.
 
After falling behind after doubles, the Pioneers answered with straight-sets wins on the top three singles courts before Utah claimed tight results in the remaining matches to win the dual.
 
Doubles:
Denver kept its doubles teams the same from its match at BYU on February 28 but flip-flopped its top two teams, moving senior Daniel Sancho Arbizu and freshman Theo Coats up to the No. 1 spot for the third time. Senior Rikuto Yamaguchi and junior Ryoma Mishiro slid down to the No. 5 slot while the relatively new team of graduate student Connor Robb-Wilcox and junior Raffaello Papajcik stayed at No. 3.
 
Utah would win the top two courts and held a lead at No. 3 as well.
 
Singles:
DU responded to dropping the doubles point with strong performances at the top half of the singles lineup. Sancho Arbizu got it started with a sixth consecutive singles win at the No. 1 spot, all in straight sets. This time, he used two 6-3 sets, taking control of the second frame with an early break and then winning the last three games.
 
In his second match back in singles, Papajcik collected his fifth win in dual play and his second straight in two sets. He started with a dominant 6-2 first set before trading breaks midway through the second set, eventually going up his own break late as part of a 6-4 win.
 
Yamaguchi got back on track with a win at No. 3 singles to put DU up 3-1 overall. He held a break lead for the back half of the first set, taking it, 6-3, before breaking to start the second set. Things tightened up at 4-4 before he, like Papajcik, broke again late to win it, 6-4.
 
All three of the final matched proved to be competitive featuring either a second-set tiebreak or a third set to decide it. Utah leveled the team scoreline with wins at Nos. 4 and 5, both with first-set wins and then victories in tiebreaks. The tie came down to the No. 6 singles match where DU freshman Coats won the first set and was level at 4-4 in the second before before conceding a late break to find himself in a third set. A break for Utah in the fourth game proved to be the critical point and led to a dual-deciding win for the host team.
 
Up Next:
The University of Denver men's tennis team has a week off before hosting its next match, welcoming Idaho State to Denver Tennis Park on Friday, March 14.
 
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