Last weekend was the valley, but now they’ve once again found a peak.
The #34 University of Denver women’s tennis team (9-4, 0-0) bounced back from two frustrating losses last weekend against BYU and Utah (that came days after shocking perennial tennis power South Carolina and then defeating Texas Tech), beating Seattle University 7-0 Friday at Denver Tennis Park, and the University of Colorado 6-1 up the road in Boulder Saturday.
The sweep over the hapless Redhawks (4-10, 0-0) was the fourth for the ladies this season. The victories also give them key momentum as they begin conference play next weekend against Oral Roberts, and eventually seek to hoist the Summit League trophy for the seventh time when they host the conference tourney at Denver Tennis Park.
Saturday Freshman Britt Pursell had to work to gain the eighth win of her young college career, having to pull out all the stops to dispatch Antonia Balzert of CU 7-5, 6-4.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy playing her,” said the Southern California native (and daughter of former Pioneer swimmer Kirsten Pursell). “I went up a bit in the second set but she never gave up either so I had to keep battling.”
Head Coach Christian Bass praised Pursell for staying tough in front of an opposing crowd and in Boulder’s well-known windy conditions:
“I think that’s the one thing with Britt, for the most part, she stays pretty steady, which is important for her.”
Bass says the team is in a good place ahead of the match with Oral Roberts at Denver Tennis Park Friday at 1pm. She says she won’t let up on pushing her student-athletes to stay on offense and look for opportunities to be aggressive.
After a test today, Pursell says she’s ready for what lies ahead in the Summit.
“I think it just pushes you to work hard, not expect anything to be handed to you, and that keeps pushing you to work harder.”
Note: The lone match win for Colorado Saturday (7-4, 0-0) came via freshman Maria Campos, who initially was set to join the Pios before making a last-minute switch to Boulder.