Men's Tennis Defeats Denver, 4-3
DENVER – In a highly contested back and forth battle, the Utah men's tennis team came away with a 4-3 victory over Denver on Friday night. The win is the third of the season for the Utes.
"What a heck of a college match today," remarked Roeland Brateanu. "Both teams played their hearts out from start to finish and we are very fortunate to come up with a big win over a very good Denver team."
Double's play began with challenges for the Utes as the first match ended. On court one, Utes Bruno Caula and Francisco Bastias fell to Denver's Daniel Krulig and Peter Sallay 6-0. The team recovered after Franco Capalbo and Geronimo Espin Busleiman court two defeated the opponents 6-3. Likewise, on court three, Utes Jayson Blando and Mathias Gavelin took the victory, 7-6, awarding the Utes with the match's first point.
The match then moved into singles, where the Utes continued to show stellar performances. Busleiman came out and won quickly in No. 4 singles action. He won the first set 6-1 before winning 6-2, in the second and putting Utah ahead, 2-0. Denver cut the lead in half against the Utes as they won No. 5 singles.
The Utes took a 3-1 lead over the Pioneers after Mattias Gavelin, who was making his first appearance of the season for the Utes, earned a victory. Gavelin was in a battle with Daniel Krulig in the first set and won 7-5. Gavelin took the second set 6-3, collecting a point for the Utes.
The next two matches favored the Pioneers, and the match was tied 3-3 with one match still on the court. The final match faced Franco Capalbo and James Davis. The two are no strangers to each other, as they squared off in the ITA Mountain Regional Single Finals earlier this season.
Capalbo and Davis were in a battle in the first set, and Capalaba won in a tiebreaker 7-6 (4). The second set went to Davis, 6-3, forcing a third set. The third set was a battle and was tied at 4-4, but Capalbo scored the 7-5 victory giving Utah the match.
UTAH 4, DENVER 3
Singles (4,5,6,2,3,1)
- Franco Capalbo (UTAH) def. James Davis (DEN) 7-6 (4), 3-6, 7-5
- Herrero Cuesta (DEN) def. Francisco Bastias (UTAH) 7-6 (8), 7-5
- Matt Summers (DEN) def. Bruno Caula (UTAH) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
- Geronimo Espin Busleiman (UTAH) def. Mattia Ros (DEN) 6-1, 6-2
- Peter Sallay (DEN) def. Bruno Krenn (UTAH) 6-4, 6-3
- Mathias Gavelin (UTAH) def. Daniel Krulig (DEN) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles (1,2,3)
- #32 James Davis/Matt Summers (DEN) def. Bruno Caula/Francisco Bastias (UTAH) 6-0
- Franco Capalbo/Geronimo Espin Busleiman (UTAH) def. Mattia Ros/Nico Herrero Cuesta (DEN) 6-3
- Jayson Blando/Mathias Gavelin (UTAH) def. Daniel Krulig/Peter Sallay (DEN) 7-6
UP NEXT
Utah returns to action on Sunday, Jan. 23, when they travel to Albuquerque, N.M. to face the University of New Mexico. The match is set to start at 12 p.m. MT.
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