DENVER – The University of Denver men's tennis player
Raffaello Papajcik was named the 2026 ITA Mountain Regional Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship honoree, the ITA on Tuesday.
The ITA Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award is presented to a junior, senior or graduate student who "displays sportsmanship, character, excellent academic and outstanding playing accomplishments."
Papajcik served as one of the leaders behind the Denver men's tennis 2025-26 campaign. The London native played the majority of the season at No. 1 singles for DU, going 13-4 in the spring dual season to finish the year with a 21-8 overall singles record. In doubles, he went 15-8 overall including 13-7 in dual matches. Against Summit League opponents, he was a perfect 5-0 in singles and 3-0 in doubles on his way to securing the Summit League Player of the Year award.
For the second year in a row, he advanced to at least the ITA Mountain Regional Championship singles quarterfinals and finished the season ranked No. 5 in the mountain regional singles rankings.
Last year's ITA Mountain Regional Most Improved Player, Papajcik became the first Denver men's player to win a singles match at the NCAA Division I Tennis Championships after advancing to the tournament as a singles finalist at the ITA Mountain Regional Championships. He achieved a career-high No. 43 national ranking in singles during the 2024-25 season.
In his four years at Denver, he went 73-31 in singles and 61-33 in doubles. His .709 career singles winning percentage is tied for the sixth highest in DU's NCAA Division I history.
He finishes his career as a three-time All-Summit League Team honoree and with seven combined Summit League weekly awards. Twice, he picked up ITA Scholar-Athlete honors and is on track to do so for a third time when the 2025-26 awards are announced later this summer.
As part of his nomination, Papajcik submitted a personal statement in which he explained, "Throughout my journey, I have learned the importance of showing up every day with the right attitude, whether in training, competition or supporting teammates. I have to admit that I wasn't perfect right away, and coming into a highly competitive college environment challenged me in ways I had never experienced before. Being surrounded by teammates and coaches who held each other to high standards forced me to mature, become more selfless and understand the true meaning of being part of something bigger than myself."
Papajcik is the fourth Denver men's player to win the ITA Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award. DU players have now accounted for the award in consecutive years after
Daniel Sancho Arbizu did so in 2025.
David Simson (2010) and
Adam Holmstrom (2007) have also won the prestigious regional award for Denver.
Denver is one of 16 members of the ITA Mountain Regional and is joined by Air Force, Boise State, BYU, Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, UNLV, Utah, Utah State and Weber State.
2025-26 ITA MOUNTAIN REGIONAL AWARD WINNERS
ITA/Dunlop Coach of the Year: Aaron Paajnen (Utah State)
ITA Assistant Coach of the Year: Sergiu Bucur (Utah State)
ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award: Philip Deaton (Air Force)
ITA Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award: Raffaello Papajcik (Denver)
ITA Most Improved Player: Xavier Calvelo (Utah State)
ITA Player to Watch: Xavier Calvelo (Utah State)
ITA Rookie of the Year: Filip Soderqvist (Boise State)
ITA Senior Player of the Year: Jean-Baptiste Badon (Utah State)
ITA Community Service Award: University of Idaho (honorable mention: Northern Arizona University)
