GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota men's tennis team fell, 5-2, to No. 63 Denver on Sunday afternoon from Choice Health and Fitness in Grand Forks, N.D. to conclude the regular season. 

Despite the loss, the Fighting Hawks (15-7, 2-3 Summit League) look to be in position to advance to the Summit League Tennis Championships next weekend in Tulsa, Okla. The final bracket and seeds will be announced by the conference later this evening, with UND expected to be either the No. 3 or 4 seed. If NoDak was to advance to the postseason, it would mark the third straight season reaching the semifinals for the first time in the program's Division I era. 

"This was a great college sporting event between two good teams that embraced the moment and produced some fantastic tennis," said UND head coach Tom Boysen. "The atmosphere, energy and excitement during the three doubles matches was as good as I;ve seen it at a college tennis match. To sustain that level of intensity while also playing at a high level is not easy. I am so proud of this team for pushing themselves, for believing in themselves and for not letting the moment be too big for them."

The match got off to a strong start for the hosts, notching a 1-0 lead with a pair of wins in a spirited round of doubles play that saw all three courts advance to tiebreaks. Riley Odell and Jerall Yasin held off a late charge to grab a victory at the No. 3 spot before the top pair of Gerhard Sullwald and Nikita Snezhko rallied from a three-point deficit in their tiebreak to clinch the 1-0 lead for the green and white. 

Singles play saw the Pioneers jump back in front, grabbing triumphs on the No. 4 and No. 3 courts in straight sets to move ahead, 2-1. Cian McDonnell and Yasin both brought one of their sets into a tiebreak from the second and sixth spots, but could not rally, as Denver grabbed the final points needed to seal the overall match victory. 

Odell kept his strong play rolling in singles play, rolling to a 6-1 win in his first set before bouncing back in the third set by a 6-4 score to notch the second point of the day for the Fighting Hawks. Sullwald nearly made it three for the hosts, but dropped a tiebreak in the second set before falling, 6-2, in the third. 

"After going 10-0 to start the season, we challenged the team to push themselves to be even better at the end of the season," said Boysen. "Mission accomplished. We are playing better tennis now than we were in February." 

North Dakota will find out its postseason fate later this evening.