GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of Denver women's tennis team (10-9, 6-0 Summit) defeated North Dakota, 5-2, to win the 2025 Summit League regular-season title after posting a perfect 6-0 record in League play.
 
Denver has won the Summit League regular-season crown in 11 consecutive seasons, doing so every year that the title has been awarded since DU joined the Summit League in 2023-14. All six Pioneers finished with at least four singles win in League play including junior Louise Wikander and freshman Natálie Cinková, who went 6-0.
 
DU secured the title after winning its regular-season finale at UND on Saturday afternoon with its two conceded points coming in a walkover by retirement and in a 10-point match tiebreak.
 
Doubles:
Denver again won the doubles point in a battle that came down to a tiebreak in the third match to finish. Juniors Claudia Martinez de Velasco and Wikander cruised to a 6-2 win at No. 2, but North Dakota was able to hold off a comeback attempt from senior Andrea Burguete Beltran and junior Marley Lambert in the No. 1 match to level the fight for the doubles point.
 
The No. 3 match went back and forth before ending in a breaker where Cinková and junior Hana Bečirovič Novak held a 4-2 lead at the changeover and eventually went on to win the final three points to clinch in, 7-4.
 
Singles:
UND was able to even up the team scoreboard at 1-1 after Burguete Beltran retired midway through the first set at No. 1 singles. Martinez de Velasco reclaimed the lead for Denver, losing a season-low three games overall. She opened play with a five-game win streak on her way to a 6-1 first set and again jumped out to a multi-break lead early in the second set, taking her to a 6-2 win in the final frame.
 
Bečirovič Novak put DU within a point of the win – and of the regular-season title – with her fifth League win of the year. She claimed her first break lead of the match to go up 5-3 and served it out before battling through a tight second set that saw her go up a break again late as part of a 7-5 win.
 
With her 10^th win in dual match play this season, Cinková secured the dual and the title for Denver at No. 6 singles. She exchanged breaks midway through her first set but won three of the final four games to take it, 6-4. From there, she carried momentum into the second set, winning the first three games and then adding another break before closing it out at 6-2.
 
Denver and North Dakota split the final two points, both decided in 10-point tiebreaks. UND went up a minibreak lead relatively quickly in the No. 4 match and was able to win it, 10-8, for the Fighting Hawks' second point of the dual. Wikander rallied back from a set down to get to the match tiebreaker and turned in a comprehensive performance, going up 4-1 and then extending her lead to 9-4, winning it on her second match point.
 
Up Next:
The University of Denver will host the 2025 Summit League Tennis Championships on April 18-19 at Denver Tennis Park. Denver has secured the No. 1 seed for the tournament. Additional information regarding the tournament, including selections and brackets, will be released by Monday.
 
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