It may sound like a broken record, but this years DU women’s volleyball (27-2, 15-1) displays their mental toughness every time they step on the court and rebound from seemingly insurmountable deficits and, even, injuries. But Denver could only claw their way back so many times before their luck finally ran out today at Hamilton Gym. The scores were 25-27, 26-24, 25-19, 21-25, and 6-15 as the Pioneers fell in five games to South Dakota in the Summit League Championship game.
The Pioneers fell at home 67-61 to the Abilene Christian Wildcats. Sure, the Wildcats are a solid team but it was Denver’s turnovers and free throws that put the Pioneers in a hole – and they could never climb out.
The Pioneers had a whopping 10 turnovers in the first half of play and put up a paltry 21 points to Abilene Christian’s 30 at halftime. Denver shot 33.3% for the half while turnovers continue to plague the Pioneers. Some of this can be explained because Rodney Billups substituted liberally during the first half with many of the new incoming freshmen. Still, it was a collective hole that was dug by freshmen and program veterans alike. Continue reading Pioneers Suffer Self-Inflicted Loss to Abilene Christian University – 67-61→
The recently released men’s lacrosse schedule (below) has some interesting takeaways.
Bill Tierney means it when he says he want to grow the game of lacrosse in the west. He has taken an RPI risk by scheduling a new program (Utah) and a relatively new program (Cleveland State). The Pioneers play Utah this season in the Utes’ first D1 lacrosse campaign. Utah lacrosse is almost certain to become a natural regional rival for Denver. Tierney has family connections to Cleveland as Vikings head coach Dylan Sheridan is married to his daughter Brianne. The Pios and Vikings will meet for a second straight year in Denver. However, there is no doubt that one of the major reasons he scheduled these contest was to grow the programs’ visibility in non-traditional areas.
26-0 in regular season in BIG EAST play? That is ridiculous. Sometimes it is easy to take winning streaks for granted but a conference winning streak this long over four seasons is an incredible accomplishment. The Pioneers, as usual, will have targets on their back every BIG EAST contest. This season will be no exception.
Live – LetsGoDU will be reporting live from Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas. This is game number two for each team. Share your thoughts about DU basketball before, during and after the game. We will be commenting here during the day.
Denver likely ended Omaha’s season Saturday afternoon but, as usual, the contest went down to the final minutes. Kenny Akimatsu gave the Pioneers the lead in the first half, 1-0, but several shots by the Mavericks in the waning moments almost found net. A rocket was launched off Omaha’s Nil Ayats right foot with 21 seconds to go and hit the upper cross bar and ricocheted down toward the goal line but landed in fair play. Denver ran out the clock to win the contest and receive an NCAA automatic bid. Continue reading Denver Wins Summit League and NCAA Berth, 1-0→
He’s been given his walking papers before. So, LetsGoDU decided to provide the Omaha Mavericks head coach Bob Warming, a printer-friendly CIBER Field map in the event he is asked by officials to leave Saturday’s Summit League final. Warming, ironically, lost his cool earlier this season in Omaha when the Mavericks gave up a 2-goal advantage to DU, allowing 4 goals to Andre Shinyashiki before Warming earned his second yellow card – sending Walkin’ Bob to the showers. Continue reading DU to play Walkin’ Bob and Omaha in Summit League Finals→
After an uneven first half that ended 27-27, Denver graduate transfer Ronnie Harrell, Jr. and sharp-shooting freshman Jase Townsend led Denver with 18 and 16 points respectively for the night to pull away from the Maine Black Bears. DU had 29 points off the bench as the coaching staff substituted liberally during the contest, playing all five new freshmen in the game. Denver out-shot Maine 42% to 31% but was out-rebounded 40-37 for the night and was doubled up, 14-7, on the offensive boards. Continue reading New Faces Propel Denver to Opening Win 62-50→
Two Denver teams take to the pitch and court this week, one as a collegiate soccer force and the other on the basketball fringes.
Seven years ago, there was no reason to expect DU men’s soccer to be a national power. Based on geography and history, they had no reason for high expectations – or a tradition of success to follow. But, in short order, led by head coaches Bobby Muuss and Jamie Franks, DU men’s soccer has emerged as a consistent national power. With a mind-set to play anybody, anywhere, anytime using a ‘fighting soccer’ mentality – they have established a solid culture of winning. Continue reading Time for DU Hoops to Step Up – It’s Been Done Before→
