DENVER -

The University of Denver women’s tennis team is set to compete at the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational from Jan. 13-15 for matches that will serve as a continuation of the fall season.

The tournament will act as a warmup for the spring season set to begin on Jan. 26 at the International Tennis Association (ITA) Kick-Off in Atlanta, Ga.

“We are the deepest we have ever been,” Denver coach Christian Thompson said. “As we start, we’re going to be playing some top teams. We’re going to get a chance to go against some very good teams to see how we stack up.”

Denver will open the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational on Jan. 13 with doubles matches against Rice University and No. 15 University of South Carolina beginning at 7 a.m. MT and singles matches against Florida Gulf Coast beginning at 10 a.m. MT. The Pioneers will continue on Jan. 14 with doubles matches against No. 23 University of Mississippi beginning at 7 a.m. MT and singles matches against Rice beginning at 10 a.m. MT. Denver will conclude its weekend schedule on Jan. 15 with singles matches against Ole Miss at a time TBA.

“We have a lot of talent,” Thompson said. “It will be interesting as we go into this first spring event to see how we play together as a team. We’re excited to try to bring another trophy home to Denver and hopefully top what we did last year.”

The Pioneers are set to return four (4) players from the 2016-2017 season where the team finished 19-7 (6-0), won the Summit League title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Among the group of returners includes 2017 All-American and senior, co-captain Julia O’Laughlin, who finished 14-9 (5-0 Summit League) last season. O’Laughin is ranked 65th (singles) the nation while junior Bianca Mok and her partner, freshman Camille Verden-Anderson, are ranked 35th in the nation (doubles), posting a 5-1 record together in the fall season.

Through the fall season, O’Laughlin has gone 9-5 in singles play and 3-2 in doubles play, Mok has posted a 9-4 record in singles play and 7-2 record in doubles play and Anderson has registered a 7-1 mark in singles play and an 8-1 mark in doubles play. Senior co-captain Gracia Mboko has gone 4-6 in singles play and 4-5 in doubles play, while redshirt junior Arisha Ladhani has recorded a 6-2 mark in singles play and 1-5 mark in doubles play. Freshman Hada Chang has posted a 4-5 record in singles play and 5-3 record in doubles play. Freshman Anna Riedmiller spent the fall season recovering from injury.

ALUMNI GIVING CHALLENGE

The University of Denver is holding an alumni giving challenge for the 2017-2018 season in an effort to increase student-athlete alumni participation in the Denver Athletics Annual Fund. The sport with the highest percentage of alumni participation will receive an additional $10,000 of support through the generosity of an anonymous donor. Alumni can make a gift online, by calling 303-871-2388 during normal business hours or by sending a check to:

Athletics Development Office

Attn: Kaley Rickert

2201 E. Asbury Avenue 

Denver, CO 80208

PIONEER MOVEMENT: 

Interested in making a donation to the tennis program? Click Here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence. 

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