Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams are off until the end of the month but that doesn’t mean they won’t be getting the racquets out.
This Saturday from 12pm to 2pm the Pioneers will be on hand for a unique event at Denver Tennis Park. They’ll be helping out in a charity event that will include instruction, mixed doubles matches and other fun activities for the public.
The event benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), an organization that each year holds a national ten-week “Man and Woman of the Year” fundraising competition. Last year LLS says they raised $1.5 million for their Rocky Mountain chapter through the campaign.
Damien Goddard (left) got an early start Saturday before a busy day of tennis and hockey.
Buffeted by headwinds from the bomb-cyclone, Houston entrepreneur (and LetsGoDU founder) Damien Goddard jetted to Colorado Friday night and toured the University of Denver campus today to see new facilities and evaluate progress.
“No job is too small – especially when you are reaching for the stars.” said the corporate titan
It was like the Pioneer ladies turned on the gusto to be able to watch some of the DU/UND conference playoff hockey game.
It only took around two hours for the Pio women’s tennis team to sweep an overmatched University of Nebraska at Omaha squad. The Mavericks were forced to drive from Nebraska after the bomb cyclone Wednesday put flights to Denver into disarray.Continue reading #BringTheRacquet: Pioneers Women’s Tennis demolishes Omaha 7-0→
With Wednesday’s blizzard still causing a travel nightmare across the Plains and Rockies, the 11 am DU Saturday women’s tennis match at Denver Tennis Park against South Dakota has been canceled. That also shelves the first annual Wimbledon-inspired party that was set to happen outside the Denver Tennis Park at 10 am. Continue reading #BringTheRacquet: Saturday match, Wimbledon-inspired tailgate canceled→
The University of Denver women’s tennis team (9-3, 0-0) returns to Denver Tennis Park Friday afternoon to take on Oral Roberts (1-9, 0-0) at 1pm. FREE pizza will be served for fans courtesy DU tennis.
Sure, it was a loss to Rice (4-3) and a win against Minnesota (6-1) but the highlight of the weekend for DU Women’s Tennis was off the court. The DU women’s tennis team was in awe when meeting LetsGoDU founder Damien Goddard in his corporate headquarter town of Houston.
Goddard holding court
The Pioneer legend witnessed the Pioneers first-hand against Rice and Minnesota – and provided tennis tips along the way. Goddard was known for a vicious backhand as a student at DU.
Some second hand reports state that some team members were moved to tears – not with the loss to Rice or the big win against Minnesota but with the opportunity to meet the Texas icon.
Goddard invited the team to visit Houston again. And his thought about the weekend? “I can’t believe they fly coach.”
Denver’s upset of top-five Stony Brook was a milestone in the Pioneers’ program development. Photo: Marc Piscotty
While men’s hockey and lacrosse take up the lion’s share of fan interest for most Pioneer fans, it’s important to recognize some otherDU athletic teams who continue to climb higher into national prominence and greater conference impact:
The 13th-ranked DU women’s lacrosse team beat its very first top five opponent since coach Liza Kelly took the helm in 2006, upsetting (#6/#4) Stony Brook (N.Y.) University, 11-7, behind Bea Behrins’ three-goal hat trick. This was a statement win for the program. The Pios have been a top-20 program for a while now, but have had trouble beating the very top echelon teams. Sunday’s win over SBU kept DU undefeated at 4-0 and may see the Pioneers knocking on the door of a top-10 ranking. The Michigan Wolverines come to town this Tuesday to face the surging Pioneers for a 12 noon start.
The sixth-ranked DU women’s gymnastics team scored its second highest all-time score (and the highest score of this season) with a 197.725 on Sunday afternoon before over 4,000 fans at Magness Arena, to win the meet over Iowa State and Boise State. This kind of scoring should keep DU in the hunt for a top-five national ranking as the season moves into the stretch run.
The DU men’s (#24th nationally) and (#47) women’s swim teams once again won the Summit League title for the sixth year in a row. DU was so dominant at the Summit League Championships that the DU women set an all-time league record for points, and DU mens and women swimmers won 37 of 38 of the swimming events overall. That’s an incredible achievement – perhaps the swimming equivalent of winning the Summit League basketball title game by 30 points, and repeating the winning margin for six straight years.
DU women’s basketball (15-12, 8-6 Summit league) continued its rise into a winning program with a dramatic road win at North Dakota. Often-injured senior Pioneer Haley Simental hit the long-range three point shot-of-her-college-career to send the game into overtime at the buzzer, in a game that the Pios would later win, 92-91. With the OT win, the Pios’ have earned at least a top-five seed at the Summit League tournament next month.
The DU women’s tennis team, ranked #40 nationally, are 7-2 this year in a sport where 317 teams compete nationally. DU has already defeated brand name schools such as Oregon, Wisconsin, BYU and Colorado this season.
All of these teams deserve our support, and we look forward to seeing how they compete in the coming months.
