Lacrosse fans were treated to a thrilling championship game over Memorial Day Weekend when Virginia defeated Maryland, 17-16. Could the fastest-growing college sport in America be used to drive a move by DU to the West Coast Conference (WCC)? Denver could leverage their national lacrosse reputation as the “Lacrosse Capital of the West”to kickstart D1 men’s college lacrosse while gaining membership in the West Coast Conference. Their ally in a proposal to join the WCC could be Seattle University, a non-football outlier in the football-centric Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The Seattle Redhawks already field men’s and women’s club lacrosse and, like DU, are a private school outlier in their conference. A commitment by Seattle to add D1 lacrosse and a joint appeal by the two schools to WCC Commissioner Gloria Nevarez could be the key to unlock membership for both schools.
It was 2018 when Denver skiing won their 24th national NCAA title. Denver hockey secured their 8th title during the 2016-2017 season. In 2015, head coach Bill Tierney led Denver to its first men’s lacrosse NCAA championship. By recent DU standards, a three-year championship drought is too long and it begs the question of which team will win the athletic department’s next national title and when?
Denver Men’s Golf made a final day charge but their over-par performance on the final few holes caused them to fall to sixth out of 13 teams at the 2021 NCAA Cle Elum Regional. Just the top five teams advance to nationals out of each regional and Denver fell just short of fifth-place Florida. It would have been historic for men’s golf to appear in the NCAA championships, a drought that has extended for over 61 years. Only three individual athletes remain in the NCAA playoffs. DU Women’s golfer Anna Zanusso is left as an individual athlete competing May 21st-23rd at the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. Anna Reidmiller from Women’s Tennis and James Davis from Men’s Tennis are in the NCAA Tennis Championships May 23rd-28th in Orlando, Florida.
It is #1Day4DU again and time to consider an annual gift to the University of Denver and, especially, any number of our successful women’s athletic programs. Head volleyball coach Tom Hogan sums it up best: “Our entire athletic department is still recovering from the financial losses we incurred during the COVID year, and every team has been impacted in one way or another through reduced budgets. It’s critical to our long-term competitiveness that we get back our financial footing, so that we can compete with top tier division one programs, and provide an amazing experience for our student-athletes.”Continue reading #1Day4DU – Spotlight on Women’s Athletics→
A well-rested #2 Northwestern team (14-0), coming off two weeks of rest and preparation, caught a Denver team (16-2) with only two days of rest in the second-round NCAA tournament match in Evanston, Illinois. The Wildcats had the fresh legs and plenty of speed and talent to defeat Denver on their home field at Martin Stadium, 19-4.
Denver got a tough assignment against the undefeated Stanford Cardinal (11-1, 7-1) in an NCAA Tournament first-round match in Evanston, Illinois Friday afternoon. A 15 game winning streak by Denver made this game a compelling matchup. Something had to give and it was a rugged defense and timely goals that won the game for Denver. Continue reading Denver Women’s Lacrosse Stuns Undefeated Stanford, 15-13, in NCAA First Round→
Denver Women’s Lacrosse, champions of the BIG EAST, plays Pac-12 champion Stanford (11-0, 7-0) in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Tournament with the winner advancing to face #2 Northwestern. The teams are familiar foes as former members of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). Denver is 12-18 all-time against the Cardinal. Continue reading BIG EAST Champion Denver to Face Familiar Foe in NCAA Tournament→
It was #15 Denver (15-1, 11-0) over UConn (12-6, 7-4) for the BIG EAST Tournament Championship and NCAA autobid. The Pioneers, winners of the BIG EAST regular-season title, used streaky goal scoring and strong defense to cap their conference title win at Cooper Field in Washington, D.C. The BIG EAST Tournament title win is Denver’s first after three consecutive runner-up finishes. Continue reading Denver Smothers UConn to Win BIG EAST Title Game, 13-7→
#1 Denver women’s lacrosse (14-1, 11-0) faced #4 Villanova (6-11, 4-7) in the BIG EAST Championship Tournament semifinal at Georgetown’s Cooper Field. The teams played a tight first 20 minutes but a 4-0 run gave Denver a 3-goal lead, 7-4. Eliza Radochonski’s three goals helped Denver build a first-half lead. Julia Gilbert bracketed Radochonski’s first-half effort with the first goal of the half to open the scoring and two of Denver’s final three goals. Gilbert’s final goal, two players up, gave Denver an 8-5 lead at the break. Brittany Bruno had three first-half tallies for the Wildcats.
A non-conference women’s lacrosse match started the three-day weekend with a victory and local bragging rights. DU women’s lacrosse (13-1, 10-0) defeated the Colorado Buffaloes at Peter Barton Stadium, 10-7, to avenge their only loss of the season. This may be head coach Liza Kelly’s best team in her 15 seasons at DU. Next up for the red hot squad is the BIG EAST Tournament in Washington D.C. and a semifinal match-up against Villanova Thursday at 2:30 pm MT. The championship is Saturday at 10:00 am MT. Continue reading Weekend Recap: Denver Begins NCAA Tournament Push in Six Sports→
