GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University women's tennis team will get the spring portion of the season underway this weekend as they travel to Ogden, Utah and Pocatello, Idaho for three indoor matches in two days, two of which will be against NCAA Division I foes from the Big Sky Conference.
 
Off from competitive action since competing in the ITA West Regional on Oct. 3-4, 2019, the Mavericks will begin the stretch with a Friday afternoon exhibition match at NCAA Division I Weber State, slated to commence at 5 p.m. in the Ogden Athletic Club after the Mavericks and Wildcat men tangle at 2 p.m.
 
The Mavericks will then travel up Idaho to face NAIA Lewis & Clark State on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in a neutral-site encounter at Idaho State's Reed Gym.  They will then stay in that facility for a 9 a.m. Sunday morning contest with the host Bengals.
 
Recapping the Fall
 
The Mavericks had a successful fall season going 4-3 in duals, highlighted by regional wins over Texas-Permian Basin and Dixie State.  The Mavericks also defeated Fort Hays State and Division III Colorado College and played in two individual-style tournaments, including the ITA West Regional Championships in Azusa, California.

Maverick senior Kristen Kirby advanced to the Round of 16 in the main singles draw at that tournament and posted a team-best 9-2 singles record throughout the fall portion of the campaign.  She was also a perfect 7-0 at the No. 1 position in duals.  Senior Rebecca Osterberg and sophomore Maike Waldburger also posted winning 8-5 records in singles play throughout the fall.  Osterberg and Waldburger also led the Mavericks in doubles, posting a solid 9-3 overall record, including a 6-1 record in duals at the No. 2 position.
 
Kirby and freshman partner Laura Alsing were second on the team with a 5-5 doubles record, including a 3-4 record in the No. 1 position in duals.
 
Final Season
 
The 2020 spring campaign will be the final season for Maverick seniors Carolena Campos, Kristen Kirby and Rebecca Osterberg.
 
Kirby is one of the most decorated Mavericks in the history of the program and enters the spring with 113 combined wins in her career.  She is 62-38 in singles and 51-48 in doubles and has earned the maximum six First Team All-RMAC honors in the first three years of her career, amongst other honors.
 
Osterberg, a 2-time All-RMAC pick, also has 71 wins to her credit, including 39 in doubles. 
 
Campos is in her first season as a regular starter and has 21 career wins to her credit.
 
The Maverick lineup
 
Here is a look at the Mavericks' probable lineup for this weekend's matches, according to Coach Dan MacDonald.
 
Doubles
No. 1: Laura Alsing/Kristen Kirby (5-5, 3-4 in duals)
No. 2: Rebecca Osterberg/Maike Waldburger (9-3, 6-1 in duals)
No. 3: Carolena Campos/Lauren Thomas (4-6, 3-3 in duals) or Campos/Halle Romero* (0-0 as a duo)
*-Romero is 0-2 in doubles
 
Singles
No. 1: Kirby (9-2, 7-0 in duals)
No. 2: Alsing (4-6, 3-3 in duals)
No. 3: Osterberg (8-5, 5-2 in duals)
No. 4: Campos (3-7, 2-4 in duals)
No. 4: Waldburger (8-5, 4-2 in duals)
No. 6: Thomas (6-7, 3-4 in duals) or Romero (1-1, No Duals)
Exhibition: Alexi Klabunde (1-1, No Duals)
 
Independent Path in the South Central
 
The Maverick women are in their first year as independents as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference no longer sponsors women's tennis.  The Maverick men also played as independents in 2018-19 and are doing so again this year.
 
Although they competed at the ITA West Regionals, the Mavericks will compete for a spot in the NCAA Division II Tournament out of the South Central Region once again this year.  The region, which will qualify four teams for the NCAA Tournament, including the Lone Star Conference Tournament Champions as automatic qualifiers, is made up of 16 women's tennis playing institutions.  Twelve of those are in the expanded LSC, which merged with the now defunct Heartland Conference this season.  The region also includes CMU's former RMAC rivals CSU-Pueblo, Dixie State and MSU Denver, who like the Mavericks are all playing independent schedules this year.  The Mavs will play each of those teams twice this spring and claimed a fall win over Dixie State.
 
In the fall, the Mavericks went 2-1 against regional foes.  They have ten total matches on the spring slate against in-region opponents, including contests with Western New Mexico, Angelo State, MSU Texas and Cameron.
 
They will also play six other NCAA Division II opponents throughout the spring, including five matches that will count toward their "in-region" record due to the NCAA's contiguous state policies.
 
CMU enters the spring with a 3-3 "in-region" record after having defeating Fort Hays State while losing to Nebraska-Kearney and Newman during the fall.
 
Challenging Schedule
 
This spring, the Mavericks will play five matches ranked amongst the top 10 of the pre-spring Oracle/ITA Division II South Central Regional rankings, which were announced on Jan. 15.   Although they have no official ramifications towards NCAA Tournament selection, it is a good indicator of how tough the Mavericks' schedule will be this spring.
 
The Mavericks will take on top-ranked Angelo State, No. 3 MSU Texas, No. 6 MSU Denver (twice) and No. 9 Cameron.  They also played No. 7 Dallas Baptist in the fall.
 
Nebraska-Kearney, one of the only other two teams to have defeated the Mavericks in the fall, is ranked ninth in the Central Region, according to the ITA.
 
Azusa Pacific and Fresno Pacific, who are third and ninth, respectively, in the ITA's West Regional Rankings and Southwest Baptist, the No. 2 team in the Midwest Region, are also on the Mavs' challenging spring schedule.
 
In total, the Mavs have a total of nine matches against regionally-ranked opponents on their 2019-20 schedule.  Four of those are also nationally-ranked in No. 12 Angelo State, No. 14 Azusa Pacific, No. 15 MSU Texas and No. 20 Southwest Baptist.  Fresno Pacific is also receiving votes in the ITA's national top 25 rankings.
 
Road Warriors
 
The Mavericks' 2020 spring schedule, which includes 21 total matches, including this weekend's spring-season openers and Friday's exhibition at Weber State, will see the student-athletes play in five different states, including Colorado.  They will travel to Utah (twice), Idaho, Texas and California before playing each of their last seven matches inside Colorado.
 
The Mavericks will have 11 total matches as the away team and will play seven other matches on neutral courts.  They were 2-3 in neutral-site matches in the fall.
 
CMU will have just one home weekend hosting fellow independents MSU Denver, CSU-Pueblo and Dixie State during the CMU Dual Tournament on Apr. 17-18.  The Mavs were 2-0 at home in the fall defeating Dixie State and Colorado College, teams they will play on the road this spring.
 
About the Wildcats
 
The Weber State University Wildcats dropped their spring season debut on Jan. 18, falling 5-2 at in-state rival BYU in Provo.  They picked up 3-set wins from Yuuna Ukita and Ana Morett Salas at No. 4 and 5 singles, respectively, after dropping all three doubles matches in what was the dual opener for new head coach RuthAnn Allen, a former veteran assistant at Utah.
 
In 2019, the Wildcats had a strong 16-8 season and advanced to the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament after going in as the No. 3 seed thanks to their 8-2 conference mark. 
 
They have been picked second amongst 11 teams in this year's Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll and received one first place vote.
 
Six of the eight Wildcat players on this year's roster were on last year's squad including now sophomores Cali Fuller and Megan Lombardi, their two top singles players.  Fuller was 16-6 in the middle of the singles lineup last year while Lombardi led the team with a stellar 20-3 record, mostly in the No. 5 position.
 
Taiwanese junior Pei-Hsuan Kuo went 13-4 in doubles last year, playing with 2019 senior Sara Parker in the No. 1 and 2 positions.  Kuo teamed with Ukita at the No. 1 doubles spot against BYU.
 
Although Friday's match will be an exhibition for the Mavericks, it will count on Weber State's record.
 
About Lewis-Clark State
 
The Warriors, who hail from Lewiston, Idaho, will begin their spring season on Friday against Idaho State before facing the Mavs.  Kai Fong is entering his 32^nd year at the helm of the program and will be hoping for an improvement over their 7-14 season a year ago.
 
Laura Rosselli, Sophie Uhlenkott and Alexandra Barry, all of whom return in 2020, each won nine singles matches for the Warriors a year ago.  Barry and Kyla Collier, who also returns, were their best doubles duo with five 2019 season wins.
 
The Warriors are receiving votes in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll but are just outside the top 25 nationally.
 
In the NAIA's West Region individual rankings, Begona Andres and Rosselli sit in the No. 10 and 14 spots, respectively for singles play.   They are ranked sixth as a doubles team.
 
About Idaho State
 
The Bengals will enter the weekend with an 0-2 record this spring after dropping 4-3 and 7-0 decisions to Seattle and Boise State in Boise on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
 
Seniors Melissa Coburn, Angela Walker and Maidson Fenske all claimed singles wins against Seattle in the No. 3, 5 and 6 spots, respectively.  Walker and Canadian sophomore Alexandra Arhipov also teamed for a No. 2 doubles win in a tiebreaker against Boise State while seniors Hristina Cvetkovic and Megan Poe picked up a No. 1 doubles win on Saturday against Seattle.
 
In 2019, the Bengals went 9-10 overall and just missed out on the Big Sky Conference tournament after posting a 4-6 conference record.    Poe, who was 14-4, had the team's best singles record a year ago.  She went 9-1 at the end of her junior season.  Coburn and Fenske were also a solid 15-2 in doubles last year and earned Second Team All-Big Sky honors while Poe was an honorable mention selection in singles.
 
Head Coach Gretchen Maloney has six seniors on her 9-woman squad this year.  They have been picked seventh in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavericks will have three weeks off before returning to action with three matches at the Dixie State Duals from Feb. 21-23 in St. George, Utah.  They open that trip against the host Trailblazers before squaring off with Holy Names and Western New Mexico in neutral-site matches on the following two mornings.