GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University Women's Tennis team will try to enjoy a rare home weekend when they take on Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rivals MSU Denver and CSU-Pueblo in a pair of matches at the Elliott Tennis Center. 
 
The Mavericks (3-5, 0-1 RMAC) will play the MSU Denver Roadrunners (4-3, 0-0 RMAC) on Thursday at 2 p.m. in a match that has been moved up a day due to weather forecasts.  That match will not count in the RMAC standings.
 
CMU is then slated to play the ThunderWolves (0-9, 0-0 RMAC) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (UPDATED TIME) in a RMAC match.

The Maverick men will play the same opponents.
 
Hershey Honored
 
Maverick senior Taylor Hershey was named as the RMAC's Player of the Week last Wednesday (Feb. 20) after she claimed victory in all six of her matches at the Dixie State Trailblazer Invite.  In singles, she lost just six total games while picking up wins in the No. 4, 5 and 6 positions.  In RMAC play, she defeated Dixie State's Hattie Erekson, 6-1, 6-1 on Feb. 15.  In doubles, she teamed with Rebecca Osterberg in each match at No. 3 doubles helping the Mavs win the doubles point against both Western New Mexico and Stanislaus State. 
 
Hershey is now 5-2 in dual meet singles matches this season and sports an 8-3 overall and 6-2 dual meet mark with Osterberg in doubles.
 
Defending the Home Courts
 
The Mavericks have typically enjoyed playing at home.  They went 4-3 at the Elliott Tennis Center in 2017-18 and have posted winning home record in all but one season since 2009-10.  The lone exception came in 2016-17, when the Mavs were .500 (3-3) at home.
 
CMU was undefeated at home in 2015-16 (6-0), 2013-14 (7-0), 2011-12 (6-0), 2010-11 (7-0) and 2009-10 (2-0).
 
The Mavericks have just three regular season home matches on the slate for this spring, including the two upcoming matches.  The Mavericks will also host Dixie State on Apr. 20 and will then host the RMAC Championships on Apr. 26-27.   CMU lost to Dixie State, 4-3 in their only home match of the fall.
 
Double Takers
 
The Mavericks have won the doubles point in three of their last four matches and five of their last seven matches overall.  They have also posted a 13-11 overall record in doubles matches during their eight team matches this season.  The Mavericks have used the same combinations in each of those eight matches with Emily Beckley and Kristen Kirby playing in the No. 1 spot.  That duo has gone 5-3.  Georgia Hansen and Maike Waldberger have played in the No. 2 position and have posted a 2-6 dual record thus far.  Hershey and Osterberg are 6-2 at No. 3 and have won four straight matches.
 
Looking for 10
 
Beckley and Kirby will be looking for their 10^th doubles win of the season overall on Thursday against the Roadrunners.  They are 9-5 overall having posted a 4-2 record in fall season tournaments. 
 
Hershey and Osterberg could also reach double figures as early as Saturday and enter the weekend with an 8-3 overall doubles record.
 
Beckley could also reach the 10-win mark in singles as soon as Saturday as she is currently 8-5 in singles play this year.
 
Winning at the top

The Mavericks have winning records in both the No. 1 and 2 singles flights.  Kirby is 5-3 at No. 1.  The Mavericks are also 5-3 as a team at No. 2 with Beckley posting a 5-2 record.  Osterberg played in that position in CMU's last match.

Poll Showdown

Although Thursday's match will not count in the RMAC standings, it will be a match-up of the top two teams in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced last month.  MSU Denver was selected first in the poll winning two of the four first place votes while earning eight points overall.  CMU received one first place vote and had seven points overall.  Dixie State was picked third with six points and also earned a first place vote.  CSU-Pueblo was picked fourth with three points.
 
Scouting the Opponents
 
MSU Denver
 
The Roadrunners will enter Thursday's match with a 4-3 record.  Like the Mavericks, they have played just three matches this spring although they have had two others wiped out by weather.  They are 2-1 in the spring posting neutral-court wins over Oklahoma Baptist and Western New Mexico by 5-2 and 4-3 scores.  They went 2-2 in the fall.
 
They are ranked fifth in the Oracle/ITA Division II South Central Region Rankings and have a nationally-ranked individual in Tabitha Porter, ranked 24^th nationally.  Porter went 11-3 in the fall and finished second at the ITA South Central Regional tournament after winning it in the fall of 2017.
 
The Mavericks and Roadrunners are scheduled to play their conference match on Apr. 5 in Denver.
 
CSU-Pueblo
 
The ThunderWolves are still looking for their first team win of the season and will come into Saturday's match with a 0-9 record.  They are 0-6 this spring and went 0-4 last weekend at the University of Texas-Permian Basin Invite last Friday and Saturday.  They picked up their lone point of the weekend when junior Sarah Megilligan won a 3-set match over the host Falcons.
 
Meanwhile, Nia Matthews and Kalie Hamilton did win a doubles match at No. 1 flight victory against Western New Mexico, their lone doubles victory of the weekend.
 
Up Next
 
After this week's home matches, the Mavs will head to Texas for three matches at the Midwestern State Duals in Wichita Falls, Texas.  They will play three of the top eight teams in the ITA's South Central Regional rankings, including the second-ranked hosts, who sit 14^th nationally in the latest ITA National Team Rankings (Feb. 20).