GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Colorado Mesa University men's tennis players Steven Howe and Thiago Nejm both advanced to and will meet each other in Sunday's semifinal round after they went a combined 5-0 on Saturday, the first day of an ITA Tour: Fall Circuity by UTR event at the Elliott Tennis Center.

Howe, the third seed in the men's draw, received a first round bye before downing Cal Hegstrom, 6-0, 6-3 in the Round of 16 before taking out No. 8 seed Jack McDermott in the quarterfinals by a 6-4, 4-6, 10-6 score.

Meanwhile, Nejm came in unseeded but won his three Saturday matches without dropping a set to reach the semifinals, which will be played at 10 a.m. after around of 8:30 a.m. back draw matches on Sunday morning.  In his opener, Nejm defeated Conner Smith, 6-0, 6-1 before moving past former teammate and fellow South American Alain De La Bastide, who retired in the Round of 16, down 6-3, 3-1.

In the quarterfinals, Nejm, a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, got past current teammate Tyler Landen, the No. 6 seed, by a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 margin.

Landen, top seed Christian Albrechtsen, and No. 4 seed Jandre van Wyk all won matches for the Mavericks as well as each reached the quarterfinal round.  They each received first round byes before winning their round of 16 affairs.  CMU's Cameron Weckerley was also a first-round winner but was bounced in the round of 16 by No. 5 seed Billy McDermott, who then took down Albrechtsen in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals, where he will face MSU Denver teammate Jean-Loup Auzias, who defeated van Wyk in the quarterfinals.

In the women's draw, Maverick sisters Carolena and Julianna Campos were each able to record Round of 16 victories before dropping quarterfinal matches.  Carolena Campos, defeated Kristen Thomas, 6-4, 6-1 while Julianna, a Maverick freshman, won over Gigi Jensen, 6-3, 6-1.

Carolena Campos then faced former Maverick standout Kristen Kirby in the quarterfinals.  Kirby, the No. 3 seed, won that match 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) and will face Sophie Parr in one semifinal.  No. 4 seed Ellen Puzak, who took out Julianna Campos in the quarterfinal, will take on No. 2 seed Brooklynn Ross in the other semifinal.

Maverick players Chapin Schott, Kathryn Sturgis, Maike Waldburger, Halle Romero and Carolena Campos are all still alive in the back draws.