GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University Men's Tennis team will make its final scheduled road trip of the year this week when they step out of Division II play for a pair of inter-divisional matches on Colorado's Front Range.  On Thursday morning, the Mavericks will take on Division I University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.  They will then head to Colorado Springs for a Friday afternoon match at Division III Colorado College.
 
Due to weather forecasts, Thursday's match with the Bears has been moved indoors and to earlier in the day.   It will be played Work Out West in Greeley and will begin at 9 a.m.  Friday's tilt with the Tigers will be played at 4 p.m. on the Burghart Tennis Courts on CC's campus.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks dropped both matches of last week's trip to the Front Range falling 6-1 to MSU Denver on Friday and 4-3 to CSU-Pueblo on Saturday.  Those losses moved CMU's record to 3-14. 
 
Against the Roadrunners on Friday, Maverick senior William Agritelley won his No. 6 singles match over Kacey Wallsundara without dropping a single game (6-0, 6-0).  Moises Cure and Christian Albrechtsen were also victorious in their No. 3 doubles match, winning 6-2 over Daniel Llorente and Wallsundara.
 
Saturday's match with the ThunderWolves was quite a battle as Max Lindqvist, Alain De La Bastide and Lucas Martin all won singles matches after De La Bastide and Martin had won their No. 1 doubles match.  Cure also took his No. 2 singles match to three sets.
 
A chance at 100
 
Lucas Martin still has a chance at ending his Maverick career with 100 victories.  The senior out of Fort Collins, Colorado will need to pick up six more down the stretch.  He is 53-48 in doubles throughout his career and leads the team with his 13-10 doubles record this season.  He also has four singles wins to his credit this year and is 41-62 in his time as a Maverick.
 
Lucky 13
 
Maverick senior Lucas Martin and junior Alain De La Bastide lead the Mavericks in doubles victories with 13 each.  They are 13-10 as a pair this year after claiming their No. 1 doubles match on Saturday over CSU-Pueblo's Ogulcan Deniz and Daniel Garcia, 6-3.  They have played the last nine matches in the No. 1 doubles position after playing in the No 2 spot for the Mavs' two fall team duals and the first six of the Mavericks' spring season.  They are 4-5 in the No. 1 spot.  However, three of their five losses have come to nationally-ranked duos.  They were 4-3 in the No. 2 position and one of their matches at that spot on the ladder was unfinished.
 
They also went a strong 5-2 as a partnership during the fall individual tournament season.
 
Streak snapped, tough slate
 
Maverick senior Max Lindqvist snapped a 13-match singles slide as he defeated CSU-Pueblo's Daniel Garcia in the No. 1 singles match on Saturday.  The Swede also took MSU-Denver's Joey Tscherne, ranked 49^th nationally, to three sets on Friday.  Six of his last 12 matches have been played against nationally-ranked foes in the top flight.
 
Versatile Mavs
 
The Mavericks have had a versatile lineup this season as six of the seven Mavericks to have played in team matches in singles have occupied two or more different positions in the lineup.  Alain De La Bastide (No. 2-5) and freshman Christian Albrechtsen (No. 3-6) have each played in four different flights.
 
Scouting the Opponents
 
Northern Colorado
 
The Bears will enter Thursday's match with an 8-10 team record after they were defeated, 4-3 by MSU Denver on Saturday.  They are a solid 5-3 at home this year but have posted only two wins in eight Big Sky Conference matches.
 
Alex Exsted leads the team with eight singles wins playing in the No. 4, 5 and 6 positions.  He has been at No. 4 for his last four.  Adolfo Arroyo (7-11) and Tommy Smalley (7-7) are right behind in wins while Kyle Pease is 6-12 and has been in the No. 1 position all season.
 
In doubles, Arroyo and Michael Kritzinger are an impressive 8-3 as a duo.  They have won four straight matches and are 7-1 in the No. 3 doubles position.  Arroyo leads the team with nine doubles wins in total.
 
Colorado College
 
The Tigers have dropped their last four matches and have fallen to 5-9 on the year.  However, they have won both of their home matches this year.
 
The Tigers had not scored a team point in three matches before Noah Forman picked up a No. 1 singles win over Josh Granberrry of Austin College on Friday.   Forman and Daniel Holland have their last doubles win, as they defeated Kyle Pease and Tommy Smalley in their Mar. 31 match at Northern Colorado. 
 
Last Time We Met
 
The Mavericks also played Northern Colorado in Greeley last year, falling 5-2 on Mar. 22.  Max Lindqvist won his No. 1 singles match in that dual after he and Mitchell Steadman had helped the Mavericks claim the doubles point with a 7-6 (7-2) victory in the third flight.  Lucas Martin and Alain De La Bastide were also doubles winners, as they took down Pease and Smalley, 6-4.  The Mavericks had won a 4-3 team decision in the previous meeting with the Bears on Apr. 3, 2015.
 
The Mavericks have owned CC as of late winning 11 straight duals with the Tigers, including a 6-1 win at home in the fall on Oct. 6.  The Mavericks won five of the six singles matches and two of the three doubles matches that day indoors at the Junction Indoor Tennis Center.   Max Lindqvist, Lucas Martin, Alain De La Bastide and Steven Howe all went 2-0.  CMU also scored a 6-3 win over the Tigers in Colorado Springs last spring on Apr. 5, 2018.
 
Up Next

The Mavericks will return home for a re-match against CSU-Pueblo on Friday, Apr. 19 at 10 a.m.  That match is the make-up date for a Mar. 2 encounter that was postponed by weather and difficult travel conditions and will be the final home match for the three Mav seniors (Agritelley, Lindqvist and Martin).