BOISE, Idaho – The University of Denver men's tennis team (4-1, 0-0 Summit) fought through a tight dual from the start to the finish but ultimately fell, 5-2, to Wichita State in a neutral-site match hosted by Boise State on Saturday.
 
The doubles point came down to a tiebreak in the No. 1 match in what was almost a preview of how close the entire dual would be. Five of the six singles matches went to third sets – including tiebreaks in the final sets in the top two matches – but Wichita State was able to come out on top.
 
Doubles:
Denver's No. 2 team of senior Ryoma Mishiro and sophomore Samuel Rovai captured a 6-3 win to help DU split the first two doubles results of the day. All eyes turned to the top court where senior Raffaello Papajcik and sophomore Theo Coats found themselves in a tiebreak but came up just a tad shy at 5-7.
 
Singles:
DU got on the board with victories from Rovai – who rallied from a set down to claim a third-set tiebreak, 7-4 – and graduate student Connor Robb-Wilcox – who also fought back after dropping the opening set at No. 5 singles. The Nos. 1, 3 and 4 matches also went to final sets, which Wichita State was able to claim. The Shockers also earned the win at No. 6 singles, which was the only match not to go the distance.
 
Up Next:
The University of Denver men's tennis team continues its first road trip of the season when it plays at Boise State on Sunday, February 15, at 11 a.m. MT.