University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, March 2
Houston, TX
10:00 AM
University of Minnesota
1
vs
6
University of Denver
Players Mentioned
Photo by: Craig Lassig
No. 45 Denver Downs the Maroon and Gold
3/2/2019 3:05:00 PM | Tennis
The courts were not in favor of the Golden Gophers as they fell 6-1 to the No. 45 Denver Pioneers in a neutral site match in Houston, Tex. In addition to the dual, Minnesota head coach Catrina Thompson and her twin sister Christian, who is the head coach of Denver, faced off for the first time in their careers.
"Credit to Denver today for playing a solid match up and down the lineup," Thompson said. "It comes down to putting in more work when we get back home and doing the little things right in practice so it translates over to our match days."
Doubles
It took all three matches in doubles action but ultimately the Pioneers clinched the point out of the second position. The Gophers tested out new pairings as Camila Vargas got back into the lineup alongside Bita Mancera in the third spot. Vargas and Mancera produced the only win in doubles draws despite the Gophers dropping the point in the deciding match on court two.
Singles
The Gophers fell short in singles as they failed to find a win in all but one across the lineup. The Maroon and Gold came out strong in the first sets, but could not hold on late into the matches. Juliet Zhang reentered the lineup for the Gophers as she battled out of the No. 6 spot to the Golden Gophers' only win of the day.
Up Next
Minnesota will pair off against No. 47 Rice on Sunday, Mar. 3 at 10am CT in their second ranked matchup of the weekend. Rice hosts a slew of talent upfront with the No. 66 ranked singles competitor Michaela Haet and the No. 49 doubles team of Priya Niezgoda and Anstasia Smirnova. Despite what their 7-4 record shows, three of Rice's losses came at the hands of top-20 opponents.
"We have another tough ranked opponent tomorrow in Rice and we need to come out and play aggressively and confidently," Thompson added.Â
Minnesota 1, Denver 6
Â
Doubles
Mok/Verden-Anderson (DEN) def. Frei/Merzbacher (MINN) 6-2
Burger/Riedmiller (DEN) def. Huber/Kreinis (MINN) 6-2
Mancera/Vargas (MINN) def. Nelson/Ladhani (DEN) 6-2
Â
Singles
Mok (DEN) def. Kreinis (MINN) 7-5, 6-2
Riedmiller (DEN) def. Huber (MINN) 4-6, 6-1,
Ladhani (DEN) def. Mancera (MINN) 6-3, 6-2
Burger (DEN) def. Frei (MINN) 7-5, 6-1
Verden-Anderson (DEN) def. Merzbacher (MINN) 6-2, 6-4
Zhang (MINN) def. Nelson (DEN) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
"Credit to Denver today for playing a solid match up and down the lineup," Thompson said. "It comes down to putting in more work when we get back home and doing the little things right in practice so it translates over to our match days."
Doubles
It took all three matches in doubles action but ultimately the Pioneers clinched the point out of the second position. The Gophers tested out new pairings as Camila Vargas got back into the lineup alongside Bita Mancera in the third spot. Vargas and Mancera produced the only win in doubles draws despite the Gophers dropping the point in the deciding match on court two.
Singles
The Gophers fell short in singles as they failed to find a win in all but one across the lineup. The Maroon and Gold came out strong in the first sets, but could not hold on late into the matches. Juliet Zhang reentered the lineup for the Gophers as she battled out of the No. 6 spot to the Golden Gophers' only win of the day.
Up Next
Minnesota will pair off against No. 47 Rice on Sunday, Mar. 3 at 10am CT in their second ranked matchup of the weekend. Rice hosts a slew of talent upfront with the No. 66 ranked singles competitor Michaela Haet and the No. 49 doubles team of Priya Niezgoda and Anstasia Smirnova. Despite what their 7-4 record shows, three of Rice's losses came at the hands of top-20 opponents.
"We have another tough ranked opponent tomorrow in Rice and we need to come out and play aggressively and confidently," Thompson added.Â
Minnesota 1, Denver 6
Â
Doubles
Mok/Verden-Anderson (DEN) def. Frei/Merzbacher (MINN) 6-2
Burger/Riedmiller (DEN) def. Huber/Kreinis (MINN) 6-2
Mancera/Vargas (MINN) def. Nelson/Ladhani (DEN) 6-2
Â
Singles
Mok (DEN) def. Kreinis (MINN) 7-5, 6-2
Riedmiller (DEN) def. Huber (MINN) 4-6, 6-1,
Ladhani (DEN) def. Mancera (MINN) 6-3, 6-2
Burger (DEN) def. Frei (MINN) 7-5, 6-1
Verden-Anderson (DEN) def. Merzbacher (MINN) 6-2, 6-4
Zhang (MINN) def. Nelson (DEN) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
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