GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After a weekend off, the Colorado Mesa University men's tennis team will return to the court for their only home match of the fall season on Saturday at the Elliott Tennis Center. The Mavericks, who are off to a solid 2-1 start in team duals this season, will host Division III Colorado College (0-2) at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks went a solid 2-1 at the Pueblo Duals held at Pueblo City Park from Sept. 12-14. The Mavs defeated Dallas Baptist and Texas-Permian Basin by identical 5-2 scores on the first two days before falling to Newman by a 5-2 score on the final day of the weekend.
Doubles is the key
The Mavericks went a combined 6-3 in their individual doubles matches at the Pueblo Duals and took the doubles point in both of their 5-2 victories. However, they lost the doubles point in their defeat to Newman.
Freshman standout
Maverick true freshman
Tyler Landen, a product of Arapahoe High School, leads the team in both singles wins (5) and overall wins (8). Playing in the No. 4 singles spot, Landen won all three of his matches at the Pueblo Duals while dropping just one set. He also advanced to the semifinals of the "B" draw at the MSU Denver Invitational. In doubles, he has been playing with
Steven Howe in the No. 2 position. The duo is 3-2 overall and 2-1 in duals.
Probable Lineup
Based solely on the lineup, Maverick Coach
Dan MacDonald fielded in their last match against Newman, here is look at how the Mavericks may line-up on Saturday.
Doubles
No. 1: Alain De La Bastide/
Moises Cure (2-3 overall, 1-2 in duals). The duo have dropped their last two matches and are looking for a bounce back.
No. 2: Steven Howe/
Tyler Landen (3-2 overall, 2-1 in duals). They were victorious in both of CMU's team victories in Pueblo.
No. 3: Christian Albrechtsen/
Thiago Nejm (4-1 overall, 3-0 in duals). The new partnership has won all three of their team matches.
Singles
No. 1: Albrechtesen (1-3 overall, 1-2 in duals). The Dane defeated DBU's Grant McKenzie by a 6-3, 6-1 score but has dropped his other matches.
No. 2: De La Bastide (3-2 overall, 2-1 in duals). The Mavs are 2-0 when he wins. His lone dual loss came in a tight third set (7-5) to Newman's Lauri Soome, who also won the first set in a tie-breaker.
No. 3: Cure (2-4 overall, 0-3 in duals). Advanced to the consolation finals of the "A" draw at the MSU Denver Invitational but still in search of his first dual victory.
No. 4: Landen (5-1, 3-0 in duals). Has won each of his last three matches and leads the team in wins.
No. 5: Steven Howe (3-2, 2-1 in duals). Was a winner in both of CMU's team wins and advanced to the consolation finals at the MSU Denver Invitational.
No. 6: Mitchell Steadman (4-1, 2-0 in duals). Claimed his first team victories in nearly 19 months at the Pueblo Duals and also claimed an exhibition win against Dallas Baptist to move into the lineup.
Independent Path
As was the case for the Maverick men in 2018-19, CMU is once against competing outside of a tennis conference this season as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference no longer sponsors the sport for either gender. However, the Mavericks will still be competing for an NCAA Tournament spot out of the South Central Region.
Regional Wins
The Mavericks are 2-0 against their fellow South Central Region rivals having defeated both Dallas Baptist and Texas-Permian Basin in neutral-court action during the Pueblo Duals. However, the Sept. 14 5-2 loss to Newman, which hails from Wichita, Kansas, will count on the Mavs' "in-region" record due to the NCAA's neighboring state regionalization rules, meaning the Mavs have a 2-1 "in-region" record thus far. Newman used to be in the South Central Region as well but with the Jets' move to the MIAA, they are now in the Midwest Region.
About the Tigers
The Tigers are 0-2 as a team after falling to Dallas Baptist and Texas-Permian Basin by 5-2 and 4-0 scores, respectively, on Sept. 14 at the Pueblo Duals. The Mavs had defeated both of those opponents by 5-2 margins on preceding days of the weekend.
Like CMU, the Tigers also started their season at the Sept. 7-8 in Denver. Alex Wimer won the consolation portion of the "B" draw at that tournament. He also defeated Riley Smith of Dallas Baptist to earn one of the Tigers' two points in that dual at the No. 4 position. Noah Forman also won at No. 1 singles in that match. Jacob Adas and Billy Taylor were No. 2 doubles winners against Texas-Permian Basin.
Series History
The Mavericks have won 12 straight matches against the Tigers and hold a 13-1 series lead dating back to 2009. They won both of last season's meetings taking a 6-1 decision on Oct. 6, 2018 at home and then a 8-1 win in Colorado Springs on Apr. 12, 2019 during the spring season.
Up Next
After this Saturday's match, the Mavericks will wrap up the fall portion of the season on Oct. 3-5 competing in the ITA West Regional Championships in Azusa, California, a change from previous seasons when they went to the South Central Regional, typically held in Texas.
