DENVER – University of Denver men's tennis players Daniel Sancho Arbizu and Raffaello Papajcik combined to win three of the ITA's Mountain Regional awards, the ITA announced on Tuesday.
 
Sancho Arbizu brought home two honors including the prestigious Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship award. He also added Senior Player of the Year recognition while Papajcik earned the Most Improved Player nod.
 
Both players advanced to the NCAA National Championships in singles in fall 2024, marking the first time that two Pioneers represented DU in the national singles draw in the same season. The players met in the ITA Mountain Regional Championships singles final to book their spots in the NCAA field with Sancho Arbizu prevailing as singles champion.
 
At the NCAA National Championships, Papajcik won a three-set, come-from-behind battle in the first round to become the first Denver men's player to win a singles match in the NCAA tournament.
 
Sancho Arbizu ended his senior campaign ranked No. 45 nationally in the final ITA singles rankings and peaked at No. 24 during the season. In the ITA Mountain Regional, he came in at No. 1 in the singles rankings while adding a No. 4 doubles ranking with partner Theo Coats. The 2025 Summit League Player of the Year amassed a 30-5 singles record on the year and finished the spring season on a 16-match unbeaten streak.
 
These are the first ITA regional awards in Sancho Arbizu's career.
 
Papajcik joined Sancho Arbizu in the national singles rankings for much of the year, ranking as high as No. 43 in the country. He ended the year with a No. 10 regional ranking after missing a month of the spring dual season with an injury, though he finished the year with a 20-8 overall singles record. A year ago, the then-sophomore split time between Nos. 5 and 6 singles but rocketed up to the No. 2 slot in 2024-25.
 
This is the second year in a row that Papajcik has been named the ITA Mountain Regional Most Improved Player.
 
Eight ITA awards are given to players and coaches within each of the ITA's 12 regions annually. All regional awards winners are now finalists for the ITA's national awards, which will be announced on Thursday, June 12.
 
Denver joins Air Force, Boise State, BYU, Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, UNLV, Utah, Utah State and Weber State in the ITA Mountain Regional.
 
The University of Denver men's tennis team successfully defended its Summit League title in 2025 and advanced to the NCAA National Championships for the 10^th time in program history. The Pioneers finished ranked No. 50 nationally – their highest ranking of the year – following an 18-7 overall record and a perfect 5-0 in Summit League play.
 
Denver's Home for College Sports
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of DU's NCAA Division I sports
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Men's Tennis on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_MTennis on Twitter
Follow @DenverPioneers and @DU_MTennis on Instagram