DENVER – The 2022 Summit League regular season came to an end on Saturday in Colorado, as Illinois State took on league-leading No. 65 ranked Denver at the Denver Tennis Park. The Pioneers held serve at home and came away with a 5-2 win over the Redbirds, and now the two teams will meet in the semifinals of the upcoming Summit League Championships.
"What a close match this was despite playing in some tough conditions," ISU head coach Mark Klysner said. "I thought we definitely stepped up and gave ourselves a chance against a ranked team at home and we came so close winning the doubles point. Congrats to our number one, Nam (Pham) who pulled off another win to finish the regular season 5-0 in the top spot. Now, we get ready for the conference championship next week where we will play Denver again in the semifinals."
Denver started out doubles play with a win at No. 2, but the Redbirds tied things up as the duo of Dominick Cuchran and Diego Emilio Moura Herrera picked up a 6-4 win at No. 3 over Denver's Mattia Ros and Nico Herrero Cuesta. However, the Pioneers squeaked out a 6-4 win at the No. 1 spot to secure the early doubles point.Â
In singles action, Arvid Hjalte defeated Ros in three sets at the No. 6 spot by a final of 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4). Pham also finished his conference season 5-0 at the No. 1 spot for the Redbirds with a 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 1-0 (10-8) win over Herrero Cuesta. Denver picked up wins on courts 2-5 five, though, to secure the 5-2 win over the Redbirds.
The Redbirds will return to the courts next weekend as the No. 4 seed in the 2022 Summit League Tennis Championships, which will take place April 22-23 at the Koch Family Tennis Center in Omaha, Neb.
FINAL SCORE: #65 Denver (5), Illinois State (2)
Singles:Â
1. Nam Pham (ISU) def. Nico Herrero Cuesta (DEN) 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 1-0 (10-8)
2. James Davis (DEN) def. Pol Botifoll Rius (ISU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Matt Summers (DEN) def. Melker Isaksson (ISU) 7-5, 6-4
4. Peter Sallay (DEN) def. Diego Le Gal Perez (ISU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Daniel Krulig (DEN) def. Diego Emilio Moura Herrera (ISU) 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 1-0 (10-7)
6. Arvid Hjalte (ISU) def. Mattia Ros (DEN) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4)
Doubles:
1. James Davis/Matt Summers (DEN) def. Arvid Hjalte/Zane Kohrs (ISU) 6-4
2. Charlie Miller/Daniel Krulig (DEN) def. Diego Le Gal Perez/Melker Isaksson (ISU) 6-0
3. Dominick Cuchran/Diego Emilio Moura Herrera (ISU) def. Mattia Ros/Nico Herrero Cuesta (DEN) 6-4
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