GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Saturday will be a historic day for the Colorado Mesa athletic department as they will host their first-ever women's wrestling dual. The Mavericks will take on Wayland Baptist at 2pm in Brownson Arena.
 
WRESTLERS TO WATCH
Colorado Mesa has pair of freshman wrestlers to keep an eye on to start the season.
 
Sierra Brown Ton (130 pounds) and Alma Mendoza (155 pounds) come in as freshman but have experience from wrestling in elite events in high school.
 
"Freshmen Alma Mendoza and Sierra Brown Ton come in as some of the more accomplished wrestlers and have great mindsets about the season and their own personal goals about being an All-American this year," head coach Travis Mercado said.
 
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Many wrestling enthusiasts from the Western Slope will recognize one of the names in the Maverick lineup. Senior Carson Pipher is slated to wrestle at 143 pounds on Saturday and comes from a long line of wrestlers in her family. Her father, Andy, was a NAIA National Champion at Southern Colorado (now CSU-Pueblo) while uncle Chuck, the Colorado Mesa men's wrestling coach was a National Champion and uncle Clint was an All-American at Southern Colorado.
 
Carson's brother, Bo, is a redshirt sophomore who currently wrestles for the national champion Nittany Lions of Penn State.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Mavericks will have a tall task on their hands in their first-ever event as they take on preseason No. 1 ranked Wayland Baptist. The Pioneers feature five wrestlers ranked by the WCWA coaches including a pair of top-ranked wrestlers in Asia Ray at 101 pounds and Paige Baynes at 191 pounds.
 
"We know that our opponent this weekend is one of the best teams in the nation but we are eager to get on the mat and compete," Coach Mercado said. "We've been training hard the past 8 weeks and it's time for us to go out and perform to our best abilities."
 
Projected Matchups
101 – OPEN vs. #1 Asia Ray (WBU)
109 – OPEN vs. #5 Nina Pham (WBU)
116 – Ashley Keenan (CMU) vs. #7 Rhonda Johnson (WBU)
123 – Madison Gines (CMU) vs. Jathiya Isaac (WBU)
130 – Sierra Brown Ton (CMU) vs. Leah Olguin (WBU)
136 – Kaylee Lacy (CMU) vs. Jaqueline Flores (WBU)
143 – Carson Pipher (CMU) vs. #6 Marina Briceno (WBU)
155 – Alma Mendoza (CMU) vs. Vanessa Ceja (WBU)
170 – Taylor Sickels (CMU) vs. Andrena Carter (WBU)
191 – Emily Clawson (CMU) vs. #1 Paige Baynes (WBU)