TUCSON, Ariz. – The No. 61-ranked University of Denver men's tennis team (18-7, 5-0 Summit) fell, 0-4, to No. 10-ranked and -seeded Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship on Friday.
 
The Pioneers kept things close during doubles and continued that pattern of play through singles but ultimately saw the Wildcats clinch the win.
 
Doubles:
All three doubles courts unfolded in different manners, though Arizona was able to close out the wins in the Nos. 1 and 3 matches to claim the point. Denver juniors Raffaello Papajcik and Ryoma Mishiro were down multiple breaks and facing a 0-5 deficit at No. 3 doubles but began to battle back, getting to 3-5 before the Wildcats found their sixth and final game needed for the win.
 
On court one, DU's senior Rikuto Yamaguchi and graduate student Connor Robb-Wilcox held the early advantage, going up a break for 3-0 before Arizona responded with five consecutive games won. The Pioneers stayed alive with a hold for 4-5 but were unable to break again, seeing their opponents win the match and clinch the doubles point.
 
Senior Daniel Sancho Arbizu and freshman Theo Coats were caught in a close battle in the No. 2 match. The first seven games all went to the serving team until Arizona went up a break for 5-3. Sancho Arbizu/Coats broke right back to level things at 5-5, which is where the match would end.
 
Singles:
Arizona moved within a point of advancing in the bracket with wins at Nos. 2 and 5 singles, easily taking the first sets but seeing the Pioneers keep things tighter in the second sets. The host team clinched the victory at No. 3 singles, winning a closer first set before easing through the second set.
 
The three unfinished singles matches saw different battles from the Pioneers. On the top court, Sancho Arbizu began to turn the table against the No. 5-ranked singles player in the country. After dropping the first set and conceding a break early in the second set, he got back on serve to even things up at 3-3 but was down another break when the match was abandoned. With the result, Sancho Arbizu finished the year on a 16-match unbeaten streak – and the first set was his first lost since February 8.
 
Robb-Wilcox's first set at No. 6 singles went back and forth with both players going up a break at some point, though his opponent ultimately gained the lead and closed it out, 6-4. The second set was shaping up to be close as well, seeing the Pioneer leading, 2-1, early.
 
Freshman Samuel Rovai came the closest to winning a set on the day for DU, seeing it slip away only in a tiebreak. He broke to start the match before the remainder of the set stayed on serve until the breaker, which his opponent won, 7-3. Rovai won the only game played in the second set before the match was abandoned.
 
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